Denny Hamlin Sounds Like He Won’t Drive Full Distance On Saturday

Denny Hamiln looked like a man in pain on Friday as he met with reporters to describe the condition of his surgically repaired knee, telling the media “as of today, there’s no way I could” drive all 375 miles of Saturday night’s Phoenix race.

Hamlin said his mobility is limited to the point that he cannot bend his left knee enough to get it on top of the pedal. He said doctors will drain the knee and remove his stitches prior to the race tomorrow in hopes of alleviating some of that problem, but Hamlin simply isn’t sure if it will work.

“It’s frustrating, because…your body won’t do what I want it to do,” he said. “I just don’t feel like I’m doing my best out there.”

Hamlin said if he makes it past the 100-lap mark, there will be no reason to get out of the car. If he turns driving duties over to relief driver Casey Mears – and Hamlin made that sound likely – he’ll do it early in the race.

The Martinsville rainout delayed Hamlin’s knee surgery – to repair a torn ligament he injured playing pickup basketball in January – for an extra two days, which may have made the difference in being able to drive the entire distance of the Phoenix race or not.

“I’ve done everything I was supposed to do and then some, and if it’s not enough time (to recover), it’s not enough time,” Hamlin said.