Surgery fixed more than Hamlin’s knee

By Joe Dunn

    For Denny Hamlin the 2010 season was off to a pretty rough start, so when they scheduled the surgery on his knee it didn’t seem like it would have a major impact on his season.
    Prior to Martinsville, the last race before his surgery, Hamlin’s best finish was 17th at the Daytona 500. Heading into the 6th race at Martinsville, Hamlin was sitting 19th in points without a top 10 finish in the first five races, something he had not experienced in his five previous NSCS seasons.
    His win at Martinsville, was big considering what he had done so far and would certainly help points wise, if he had to miss any races, but a single missed race would most likely put him out of Championship contention.  The general consensus before the surgery was that Hamlin would miss at least one race, possibly more, and that he would start a few races and then let a substitute driver finish the race.
    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series had a week off after Martinsville, so Hamlin got less than 10 days after surgery to climb back into the car at Phoenix. Denny, rather than practicing qualifying or race runs , instead practiced getting in and out of the car.  When the green flag dropped, Casey Mears was standing by in the #11 pit, waiting to replace Hamlin on the first caution.  But instead, Hamlin remained in the car.  It was apparent from his run and the 30th place finish, that Denny was really suffering through the race. He could have taken the opportunity to climb out early and that probably would have resulted in a better finish, but Hamlin was determined to tough it out. It was a long and painful process just getting Hamlin out of the car after the race.
    It was that determination by Hamlin that led to such an unbelievable recovery.  That surgery not only repaired his knee, it repaired his season. He made up for that 30th place finish at Phoenix by going to Texas and winning. Three weeks later, he won both the NSCS and the NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Darlington. Since that 30th place at Phoenix, his worst finish has been an 11th at Richmond. In six races prior to the surgery, Hamlin had an average finish of 17.6, in the 6 races since the surgery he has an average finish of 8.5.
    But it’s not just the finishes that have improved, after all some folks could say that a lot of that is luck, but his other stats have shown remarkable improvements. Here’s a look at some of those states, before and after the surgery. Average running position throughout the race, before, he ranked 18th at 17.85, after, he ranks 8th at 14.63. Closing rate, in the last 10 laps of the race, before, he ranked 33rd, with an average of -3, after, he is 7th with an average of +7.16. Hamlin went from running in the top 15 during races at 36.1% to now averaging 51.6% running in the top 15.
    When Hamlin injured his knee in a basketball game a few weeks prior to the January Speed Week at Daytona, that led up to the Daytona 500.  At the time ESPN analyst Dr Jerry Punch said,  “In essence, it’s not that big a deal given what drivers normally have to do in the car,”  Punch, a former emergency-room physician, also commented  “ No two people are the same in terms of how much instability they have when they tear an ACL. Typically, somebody that is Denny’s age, young and in great physical shape, can rehab that knee without having it operated on.”  Even JD Gibbs was not worried,  “He’ll be fine. The hardest part’s going to be just the stuff he loves to do, play basketball and other sports. He’ll not be able to do that,” Gibbs said. “He’ll be fine; he’ll just be frustrated.”
    It seems clear to me that the surgery, in addition to repairing the knee, also repaired the driver’s slump that Hamlin suffered for the beginning of the 2010 season.

McMurray claims Pole for the SHOWTIME Southern 500

By Joe Dunn

    Jamie McMurray backed up his fast time in the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Darlington Raceway as he picked up his fast lap speed by more than two mph. Turning a lap of 27.264 seconds at 180.370 mph, McMurray put the Earnhardt Ganassi #1 McDonald’s Chevrolet on the pole for Saturday night’s race. Joining McMurray on the front row will be Jeff Gordon in the Hendrick Motor Sports #24 DuPont / National Guard Chevrolet, Brian Vickers was third fastest in the # 83 Red Bull Toyota.
    Tony Stewart qualified a disappointing 24th as misfortune plagues his second season as an owner driver. His Stewart Haas Racing teammate Ryan Newman qualified sixth.  The series top points leaders also struggled as Kevin Harvick qualified his #29 Shell / Penzoil Chevrolet 35th and defending series champion Jimmie Johnson starts 22nd in his #48 Lowes’s Chevrolet.
    Michael McDowell registered the fastest time of the Go or Go Homer’s, as he starts 18th.  Missing the Southern 500 will be Joe Nemecheck in the #87 NEMCO Toyota, Casey Mears, in the Tommy Baldwin racing # 36 Chevrolet along with Mike Bliss in the Phoenix Construction # 09  Chevrolet.
    Kevin Conway, who fell out of the top 35 in owners points, swapped car numbers again this week with David Gilliland who was locked in the top 35. Conway, who recorded the slowest time of the day will start 43rd in the #37 Extenze Ford based on owners points, while Gilliland will start 34th in the #38 Taco Bell Ford.
    Larry Gunselman’s # 64 Little Joe’s Auto Sales Toyota will make it’s second start of the season rolling off 37th with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular Todd Bodine behind the wheel. This combination presents a bit of nostalgia, as Bodine last drove a Little Joe’s Auto Sales  sponsored car May 6, 2000 at Richmond International Raceway.  Car owner Larry Gunselman says that this is the same Little Joe’s that was the sponsor for Bodine on the #91 Chevrolet owned then by Joe Falk.

Denny Hamlin on pole for Royal Purple 200

By Joe Dunn

  Denny Hamlin continues to show his stamina as he climbed into the #20 Z-Line Designs / Operation Helmet, Joe Gibbs Toyota and clocked a fast lap of 27.936 on the Darlington Raceway 1.3 mile track.  That lap recorded a speed of 176.031 mph besting second place starter, teammate Kyle Busch by less than 5/100ths of a second.  That puts the JGR matching Toyotas, both sponsored by Z-Line Designs on the front row.
    Hamlin’s good fortune stands in start contrast to NASCAR veteran Morgan Shepherd, who turned  the slowest lap of the go or go home cars at a speed of only 164.662 mph.  The missed race is the fourth one of the year for Shepherd and his  #89 Racing with Jesus Chevrolet as  he joins so many other teams hurting financially due to the poor economy and lack of sponsorship dollars.  Also missing tonight’s race will be Johnny Chapman in the unsponsored K-Automotives Dodge, along with Willie Allen, in the 31W Insulation Chevrolet.
    Eight of the top ten qualifiers are Double Duty Sprint Cup drivers, including Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer.  The lone NASCAR Nationwide  Series regulars in the top ten are Justin Allgaier in the #12 Verizon Dodge, starting 6th and Trevor Bayne in the #99 Diamond Waltrip Toyota.
    Clint Bowyer is still behind the wheel of the #21 Zaxby’s Chevrolet, while John Wes Townley remains missing in action. Repeated inquiries to Richard Children Racing are still answered with the ‘no comment, other than Townley is still a Developmental driver employed by RCR.  Colin Braun is once again missing from the Roush Fenway Racing #6 entry as Matt Kenseth pilots the unsponsored car at Darlington.