Johnson had off-season hernia surgery
"I had bilateral hernias, one on each side, and then a third one in my belly button, so I was very lucky to go in and have all three fixed," Johnson said Sunday after his win at Dover International Speedway. "It wasn't a sports hernia. It was something over time and getting older that something like 60 percent of men near the age of 40 have these and don't know. But I saw one midseason, a little protrusion in my skin and went and had it checked out, and they're like, 'You've got a couple years to get it fixed,' so I figured I'd get it fixed sooner rather than later and went in right after the banquet."
Johnson, who mentioned the surgery in a prerace interview on Fox Sports, said he wasn't trying to keep the surgery a secret and that many in the garage area knew about it. He said it was a laparoscopic procedure, which utilizes small incisions and small instruments with cameras that allow for a less invasive surgery. Sporting News