Hamlin to have surgery, sub not named UPDATE Mears: #11-Denny Hamlin will have reconstructive surgery on his left knee Monday, sources close to the driver and Joe Gibbs Racing told ESPN.com. Hamlin, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in December playing pickup basketball, planned to wait until the end of the 2010 season to repair it. But growing fear of long term damage forced his hand, sources said. Sources said Hamlin plans to start every race and doesn't expect to miss any competition, but plans to have a driver on standby for several races just in case. Sources are uncertain at this time whom that driver would be. Per NASCAR rules, the driver that takes the green flag in the car earns the championship points for that race, even if he gets out prematurely. Hamlin's ability to drive the #11 Toyota is more about his pain tolerance than anything else, sources said. Strength-wise he should be fine. If he can handle the pain, he can race, the sources said. Hamlin, widely considered the biggest threat to upend Jimmie Johnson's championship stranglehold, has begun slowly in 2010. He is 19th in the point standings and has yet to earn a top-10 finish in the season's first five events.(ESPN)(3-27-2010)


UPDATE: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will undergo surgery on Monday, March 29 to repair the ACL in his left knee. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Patrick Connor with OrthoCarolina. Hamlin injured the knee in January prior to the start of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. "When we first reviewed the situation we thought Denny couldn't do any further damage to his knee if he waited to have surgery, but as the season progressed we determined that the best plan of action was to go ahead and have it repaired," said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. "Hopefully this will take care of the situation and he should get stronger each week." Hamlin is expected to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Phoenix on April 10.(JGR)


MEARs could sub: Hamlin said driver Casey Mears has been hired as his standby in case he needs a substitute or an in-race replacement during the recovery period. Hamlin said he hopes he won't miss any races and that the recovery period will be over by the fall, when he hopes to be competing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He is currently 19th in points. Hamlin said he will be on crutches at least until practice for the Phoenix race begins. "From there, we'll just kind of see where our range of motion is and things like that," he said. "As long as they can just pry me in that seat, they'll have a tough time prying me out." Hamlin had planned to have the surgery at the end of the season, but continuing problems with the knee forced a change, he said. "We were doing some further damage to the knee, and, to me, it's not something that's worth suffering forever or having a permanent limp or anything like that," he said. "It just didn't make much sense. The goal right now is to go ahead and get it done on Monday as soon as I can early Monday morning. "Right now, he (surgeon Dr. Patrick Connor) says that I'll be able to get in the car at Phoenix. There's no doubt that I'll be able to get in it. It's just tolerance of pain is what's going to be the limiting factor." Depending on the speed of the recovery, Hamlin said it's possible that he could start several races and allow Mears to replace him during the event. A driver must start a race to earn points in the driver standings for that event.(SPEED)(3-27-2010)