For the second year in a row, Denny Hamlin got eliminated from the playoffs at Martinsville, just one step shy from competing in the final 4 race, in hopes of winning his first NASCAR Cup title. Of course, we now know that apart from the factors that turned detrimental to his 2023 season, Hamlin wasn’t 100% physically, for which he got shoulder surgery in the off-season. But despite the disappointment of the last two years and the recovery time from the surgery, Denny Hamlin is feeling good heading into the new season.
Advertisement
He opened up on his mindset from a physical perspective with regards to his shoulder woes last season which he assured, are now gone for good. “I feel really good about this year being in a better physical place than I was for the last two years,” Hamlin said during a recent episode of Actions Detrimental.
“And that goes for road course racing, everything. There’s just no doubt that there was some fatigue going on in some races where I just didn’t feel that I’m 100%.”
“I hate to say it, but if you’re not as physically strong in lap 200 as you are lap one, everything is a little slower,” he explained. “So I certainly feel good about where we’re gonna be this year.”
Hamlin’s comments should come off as a reassurance to his fans and his team that he is certainly hungry and confident about his championship hopes in 2024.
How’s @dennyhamlin‘s shoulder rehab going? ⚕️ pic.twitter.com/JIGn2NAWwy
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) February 2, 2024
Denny Hamlin kept his shoulder woes hidden even from his crew chief
Of course, there were many variables that eventually came together to decide the fate of Hamlin’s 2023 campaign. One of those was the fact that he was in a lot of physical pain because of his shoulder, which would’ve played a role at one point or the other in the little moments that make or break a season.
However, Hamlin decided to suffer in privacy. He kept his shoulder woes closed off from his fans and even from his crew chief, Chris Gabehart. “My crew chief will bang his head against the wall because even last night, we’re talking in his office and it’s just like, ‘Damn it! I knew you were not a 100%, and you kept telling me, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine,’” he said.
“But I wasn’t.”
Nevertheless, the relief now for his fans and his teams would be the fact that he has treated his shoulder problems. Hamlin has also insisted that right from the start of 2024, he would be in better shape than he was at the end of 2023 despite the road to recovery to 100% fitness still staring him in the eye.
