#11-Denny Hamlin, who had surgery nine days ago to repair a torn ACL in his left knee, said he is uncertain if he can drive the entire race Saturday after experiencing significant pain and discomfort in practice Friday. “I don’t know how far I can go,” Hamlin said. “It aches quite a bit and the range of motion is a problem. If I had to do it today there is no way I could do it.” he said. Casey Mears will replace Hamlin if Hamlin has to get out of the #11 Toyota. A driver must start the race to earn the points for that event. “There’s a lot of fluid build-up on the knee right now,” Hamlin said. “The doctors are going to insert a needle in the morning and drain all the fluid. They also are going to take the stitches out, so I might have a little more mobility.” Hamlin said he hopes to make a decision early in the race about whether to get out of the car. “If we do it, we need to do it early,” Hamlin said. “I’ll start thinking about it at 50 or 60 laps. My goal is to know what I’m going to do before Lap 100 [in the 375-lap race]. There’s no reason to abort it if I make it that far. It hurts worse when I stop than when I’m going.”(ESPN.com)(4-9-2010)
UPDATE: Interviewed on SPEED’s Race Day, Hamlin said he has not determined if he will try to run the entire race. He will see how he feels once the race gets underway but try to make a decision by lap 50.(4-10-2010)
UPDATE 2: Hamlin stayed in the car for the entire race.(4-10-2010)
