It has been a busy offseason already for some of NASCAR's top stars. Chase Elliott had successful surgery to repair a torn labrum. Now, Joe Gibbs Racing has revealed that Denny Hamlin, the driver of its No. 11 Toyota, also required surgery for a shoulder issue.
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In a press release this past Wednesday, the team announced that Hamlin had undergone successful surgery on his shoulder and that he will be fully recovered for the 2024 season.
"Joe Gibbs Racing announces that Denny Hamlin underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder earlier today," the press release stated. "The surgery was completed by Dr. Patrick Connor at Charlotte Surgery Center. Hamlin is expected to fully recover in time for the start of the 2024 season."
Hamlin was a strong contender for 2023 the Series championship but failed to reach the Championship 4. Now, he will have to turn his focus on trying to capture that elusive championship in 2024. He will be able to make that attempt without any issues with his shoulder.
Hamlin had previously stated in the season finale episode of his podcast "Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin" that he had some physical recovery to do, so now it's clear that this surgery was what he was referring to.
"I've got some recovery to do physically," Hamlin said. "I've got to get some stuff fixed. It's just part of normal maintenance for me in the offseason, like, 'What surgery are we having?' It's like pretty on the regular at this point, but once we get that stuff fixed, I think I certainly will be better and ready to get going for 2024."
As it turns out, he had a very similar procedure done on his left shoulder on Nov. 21, 2019. It was a season when he reached the Championship 4 — and then his team famously put a large piece of tape on his grill, which ultimately ended what was arguably his best shot at a championship to this point.
Hamlin has already made it clear he intends to win it all in 2024, and this procedure could give him a needed boost.
