NASCAR Cup Series: Denny Hamlin to undergo surgery for torn labrum

Denny Hamlin is set to undergo surgery on his right shoulder for a torn labrum after the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season comes to an end.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is currently battling to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship in what is his 14th season as a full-time driver in the series.

Through the first 33 races of the 36-race season, the 38-year-old Chesterfield, Virginia native sits in second place in the championship standings with a career-high average of 9.15.

He has recorded five victories, as many as he earned from 2016 to 2018 combined, along with a career-high 18 top five finishes and a career-high 22 top 10 finishes, and he sits 24 points above the Championship 4 cut line with two races remaining in the round of 8 of the playoffs.

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Now Hamlin, who has finished as high as second place in the championship standings before back in the 2010 season, has confirmed that he is set to undergo surgery on his right shoulder for a torn labrum.

With that being said, this surgery is not scheduled to take place before the 2019 season ends on Sunday, November 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, so nothing about his driving status changes as a result of this confirmation. In fact, Hamlin himself stated that his shoulder itself hasn’t affected his driving in any way. Based on what he has accomplished so far this season, it’s safe to say that this is probably pretty accurate.

Here is what Hamlin had to say about the matter, according to NBC Sports.

"“I really don’t know how it happened to be honest with you, but it’s something that has been nagging really for years. I’ve had shoulder issues. It just got to the point where it was really bad and got it scanned and figured out what it was. It hadn’t really affected me in the car at all. That part has really been fine.“It was just progressively getting worse over the late summer to early fall. So just a few weeks ago the doctors came and gave me a little bit of relief with that [cortisone shot] just kind of to get me into the offseason where I can fix it.”"

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We certainly wish Denny Hamlin well this offseason as he deals with this shoulder issue. But for now, the most accomplished non-champion currently competing in the NASCAR Cup Series has other things on his mind with just three races remaining in the 2019 season at Texas Motor Speedway, ISM Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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