Denny Hamlin sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. [Credit: Matt Sullivan/Getty Images]
Richmond, VA – In sports, participants can and do sustain injuries, and the more determined athletes often ignore their pain, “playing hurt” as the saying goes. Three days ago Denny Hamlin once again joined the club after tearing the ACL in his right knee while playing basketball. Ignoring the pain and the advice of some, Hamlin hobbled into the Richmond International Raceway garage on Friday as preparations were starting for the Federated Auto Parts 400, the final regular season race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season,
Walking with a crutch, Hamlin climbed aboard his FedEx Express Toyota while ignoring the swelling, hoping to do well on his home track where he has won five times in combined Sprint Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series action.
“In the car, I am comfortable. Obviously, the swelling is the biggest issue. It hurts my mobility as it kind of shuts down my quad, so there are challenges there,” Hamlin said prior to qualifications. “During practice, I was fine in the car.”
In qualifications, he timed 25th fastest.
Describing his basketball incident, Hamlin said he jarred it earlier in the game but kept on playing, even making the basket that tied the game. “We went into overtime and that’s when it happened,” he noted.
Hamlin’s contract doesn’t preclude participation in other sports and he uses basketball as his outlet for stress.
Freak accidents, on and off the track, have plagued Hamlin, and he attributes these occurrences to bad luck. “Some of my injuries are attributed to bad luck, and it is just part of being active. I just feel the things I do have less risk and I just am having a string of bad luck.
“I don’t think these injuries have affected our performance at all, and I am going to continue to do whatever I want to do outside the car, doing whatever I can do to better prepare myself to get physically stronger to prevent injuries in the future.”
Hamlin’s injury will require surgery, but he doesn’t plan to have it done until season’s end. In 2010, a similar injury to his left knee took place and with an off-week in the schedule, he did undergo surgery but will not do the same this time around.
“The best thing to do is to hold off, as I feel 100 per cent in the car and that’s just three days later. I will just have to be careful with my steps and movements,” he said. “There’s no benefit to doing it right now. The smartest thing to do is to wait,” he commented. “And I fully intend to give it 110 per cent, to prove that I am 100 per cent. I will give it all I got.”
Looking ahead to the Chase, Hamlin said, “I expect to be part of the final four at Homestead once again, as we are running better now than we were then. There’s nothing that should keep me from being in that championship (run). Our goal is to have four cars in the final four.”
And Hamlin let it be known that while he’s not a star basketball player, he fully intends to continue pursuing his playing days.
The Virginia racer wants it known that “playing hurt” isn’t all bad, just a little bit uncomfortable at times, and is no excuse for giving 100 per cent or more – the mark of a highly motivated athlete.