NASCAR: Another driver undergoes offseason surgery

Denny Hamlin successfully underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder and is expected to be ready for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Less than a week after Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott revealed that he had undergone surgery on his right shoulder to fix what he described as an old injury, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin also underwent a shoulder procedure.

For the second time in four years, Hamlin has undergone an operation on his right shoulder just after the conclusion of a NASCAR Cup Series season. This week’s procedure was an arthroscopic surgery which was said to be successful.

The expectation is that the driver of the No. 11 Toyota will be good to go for the start of the 2024 season in February.

Denny Hamlin also underwent surgery on his right shoulder for a torn labrum after the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season.

He was indeed fully recovered for the start of the 2020 season. He responded by winning the season-opening Daytona 500 for the second year in a row and for the third time in four years.

In addition to Hamlin and Elliott, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace also underwent an offseason shoulder surgery in recent years, doing so between the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He too was ready to go for the 2022 opener.

As Elliott stated after his surgery, given the recovery period associated with these types of procedures, the early part of the roughly three-month offseason is an ideal time to have any necessary operations done to fix lingering injuries.

The 2024 season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, February 4 with the preseason Busch Light Clash exhibition race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The slate of 36 points races is officially scheduled to begin on Sunday, February 18 with the 66th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Fox is set to provide live coverage of both races.