CHARLOTTE, N. Norm Standlee Jersey .C. -- A small piece of metal in his eye, and not a sinus infection, caused Denny Hamlin to miss last weeks race at California. Hamlin was not medically cleared to race last Sunday by doctors in the infield care centre at Auto Club Speedway. He had visited the care centre on Saturday and Sunday complaining of an irritation to his eye, and it was determined at the track that it was related to a recent sinus infection Hamlin had suffered. Hamlin was referred to a local hospital for further evaluation, and once there, "a small piece of metal was found to be in Hamlins eye," Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement Wednesday. The metal was removed and JGR said "Hamlin felt immediate improvement." By then, the race at Fontana had already started and replacement driver Sam Hornish Jr. was behind the wheel of Hamlins No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin underwent further testing in California before he was cleared to fly home to North Carolina. He was evaluated in Charlotte on Monday and again on Wednesday, when it was determined he had no lingering issues with his vision and is cleared to race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin has four career victories at Martinsville and an average finish of eighth. The timeline of Hamlins diagnosis and revelation it was a piece of metal in his eye and not a sinus infection comes a day after Dale Earnhardt Jr. called on NASCAR to release information regarding Hamlin not being cleared to race at California. Earnhardt, during an appearance Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, questioned why there had been no official NASCAR statement or further explanation from Hamlin on what happened. He was particularly interested because it is so unusual for a driver to be parked shortly before a race is about to begin. "Im worried the perception is bad for NASCAR and the perception is bad for Denny," Earnhardt said. "If Denny didnt race because his vision is blurred and he had a sinus infection, NASCAR should put out a release and say, This is the timeline of the events and this is why we made this choice and this is the protocol for going forward. "That answers everybodys questions. Dont you have questions? I have questions. We shouldnt have questions. We should all feel pretty comfortable with what happened." Earnhardt missed two races in 2012 after he suffered his second concussion in six weeks. He drove for weeks following the first concussion, which occurred while testing at Kansas Speedway. He was cleared to drive following that crash, and the concussion was discovered after he wrecked again at Talladega. "If Denny did everything right, thats good to know," he said. "Why NASCAR did the things they did and the timeline, it would be good to know those things because the drivers are all curious and the fans are curious. Information is moving around. It just doesnt need to be going on. We should all know what happened and know why it happened and be done with it and not have to worry about it." Arnaz Battle Jersey . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday. Paul Hofer Jersey . Numbers Game looks at the As getting Jon Lester from Boston, sending Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox along with a deal involving the As and the Minnesota Twins. The Athletics Get: LHP Jon Lester, LF Jonny Gomes, OF Sam Fuld and cash. http://www.custom49ersjersey.com/custom-john-brodie-jersey-large-1088d.html . According to a report from ESPN, the veteran safety has signed another one-year deal with the team Raiders, the team that drafted him, and who he returned to last year after a long stint with the Green Bay Packers.The Winnipeg Jets host the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 7pm ct start at MTS Centre. Its the second meeting of the season between these teams. Evgeni Malkin and James Neal each scored twice as Pittsburgh were 6-5 winners on home ice in January. The (34-33-10) Jets have 78 points and trail Dallas by seven points for a Western Conference Wild Card playoff spot. The Stars play in Carolina tonight. Ondrej Pavelec will start his fourth consecutive game in goal. Jets Projected Lines: Ladd-Little-Frolik Wheeler-Jokinen-Byfuglien Kane-ODell-Halischuk Tangradi-Slater-Peluso Trouba-Stuart Enstrom- Postma Pardy-Redmond Bryan Little is on a seven game point streak (two goals and six assists). Paul Postma, who will play his sixth straight game tonight, was on the ice for a season high 21:55 in Phoenix on Tuesday. Devin Setoguchi will be a healthy scratch for the fourth time iin the last five games. Terry Kirby Jersey. . The Jets have a 15-10-5 record under Head Coach Paul Maurice. Pittsburgh is coming off a 4-1 loss at home against Carolina Tuesday night. The (48-23-5) Penguins lead the Metropolitan Division with 101 points. They are 11 points ahead of the New York Rangers. Mark Andre Fleury will start in goal. Penguins Projected Lines: Kunitz-Crosby-Stempniak Bennett-Jokinen-Neal Pyatt-Sutter-Gibbons Glass-Adams-Megna Maata-Niskanen Orpik-Martin Scuderi-Bortuzzo Paul Martin returns to action after missing the last 18 games. Sidney Crosby is on a five game point streak (two goals and four assists). In 26 games lifetime against Atlanta/Winnipeg, he has 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points. Chris Kunitz has scored three goals in his last four games. The Penguins have the second ranked power play in the NHL at 23%. ' ' '