Denny Hamlin Tears ACL

UPDATE Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin shouldn't have too much trouble driving a race car despite a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, according to JGR President J.D. Gibbs and doctors familiar with ACL injuries. Hamlin, 29, uses his left foot to brake as well as to control the clutch in his #11 Toyota.

Denny Hamlin

"In essence, it's not that big a deal given what drivers normally have to do in the car," said ESPN analyst Dr. Jerry Punch, a former emergency-room physician.

"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."

The ACL keeps the lower part of the leg from moving forward when a person stops running. Starting and stopping quickly would make the knee feel unstable. It doesn't have to do with rotation or side-to-side movement, Punch said, and the pedals could be adjusted to make it more comfortable. Reconstructive ACL surgery requires six to 10 weeks of immobility, and that's why Hamlin plans to wait until after the season is over, Punch said. He could have arthroscopic surgery to clean out the injured area and that would require only 10 days of being off his feet, but Gibbs said that no surgery is planned. Scene Daily

01/24/10 Denny Hamlin has a torn knee ligament and won't have surgery to repair it until after the upcoming NASCAR season. Hamlin says he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee playing basketball on Friday. The injury was first reported by ESPN.com after Hamlin pulled out of a skills competition for NASCAR drivers hosted by the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats.

Hamlin had surgery in December on his right knee, and the new injury is unrelated.