Denny Hamlin: Injury won't hamper Chase chances
RICHMOND, Va.—At this point, it's easier to find a spot on Denny Hamlin's body he hasn't hurt.
The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota has suffered injury to his legs, back, chest, and eye, and he's currently feeling the effects of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Hamlin tore the ligament while playing basketball—driving to the basket in overtime of a game, he insists—and will once again seek to race with his body at less than 100 percent.
"I really don't feel like this will set us back at all," Hamlin said, and, really, what else is he going to say? Hamlin still uses a crutch to walk, though he insisted he's close to regaining full mobility.
Hamlin has one win on the year (Martinsville), plus two poles, nine top-5 finishes and 12 top-10s. He's riding a strong streak, finishing 5-3-3 over the last three races. Which would lead one to ask the very reasonable question: why on earth risk anything playing basketball at this time?
"Joe (Gibbs, team owner) does a good job of letting us be whoever we want to be outside the race car," Hamlin said. "My activities really aren't that dangerous that I do. It just seems like I have had some freak accidents over the last few years that's gotten us, but I don't think there's anything that's kep us from being competitive on the race track."
Hamlin had torn the ligament in his left knee in 2010, and had that ligament repaired during the season. "We don't have that luxury this time around, especially with the Chase coming up next week," he said, "so I think that the best thing to do is just hold off and make sure we're 100 percent in the car."
Hamlin kept his sense of humor; when asked if Gibbs was a Chase favorite, he replied, "Joe's not a very good driver." He elaborated on the question: "I've got three of the best teammates speed-wise and talent-wise that I could possibly pick out if I had every single one of them to choose from," he said. "So I'm pretty optimistic...on a consistent, week-in, week-out basis, you're typically looking at JGR cars to beat."
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.
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