Denny Hamlin was one of the biggest stories of the NASCAR 2023 Cup Series. The JGR No.11 was out there to make no friends as he went on about his business and traded blows on track with his rivals when he needed to. A fifth place overall in the point standings indicates that Hamlin is doing just fine but the reality is far from it. At 43, age is now catching up to the veteran driver, and had it not been for that niggling shoulder injury he was carrying, he could have clinched the championship.

Having undergone a shoulder injury last year, doubts were creeping in about his participation at the Busch Light Clash. However, a recent interview with Fox Sports has now cleared the air. The 43-year-old has been putting work into the simulation in prepping for the Busch Light Clash while also still trying to recover a hundred percent from the surgery he had. Hamlin also highlighted that the Coliseum track has been the most challenging for him on the simulation in recent times.

Denny Hamlin is yet to reach his full capacity after his shoulder surgery

After wrapping up the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series, Hamlin underwent a successful arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder. He was the second-big-name driver after Chase Elliot who had undergone surgery and thus initiated a race against time to reach their prior fitness levels. The good news for JGR is that the No.11 driver is well on his recovery path and will also contest at the Busch Light Clash 2024.

It has to be noted that, the surgery took place late in November last year and the projected time for his shoulder to recover was three months. Fair to say that he is halfway done with his recovery road but he is not yet at peak performance levels. Providing an update about his recovery, in an interview with Bob Pockrass from Fox, he said, “It’s been really hard, there’s really no shortcuts to get this thing better.

“They told me it was going to be three months and there’s no shortcuts around it, so three months till I get back to hundred percent. Certainly, I feel better than I did at the end of the season. We’ll work our way to the Clash and then get stronger and go on from there.

“Strength is going to be the biggest thing that hinders me but we would actually rather fatigue ourselves out at the Clash.”

Denny Hamlin also went on to describe The Clash at the Coliseum as the most demanding track from the ones he has been working on. “Yeah, the Clash is certainly, in the sim, the most challenging track of all the ones I’ve been working on at the moment. It’s a challenge, a relatively short race. You never really run that many laps under green at one time.”

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Although joining Hamlin is HMS’s Chase Elliot who too has been on a recovery road.

Chase Elliot provides an update on his recovery path after multiple surgeries last season

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Hendrick Motorsports No.9 missed time last season after the snowboarding accident. This saw him undergo surgery on his left leg. Moreover, he also went under the knife again for a shoulder injury. It was the first time in his Cup career he missed out on the playoffs. To rub salt in his wounds, he was winless for the first time since 2017. Needless to say, the 28-year-old is taking nothing for granted this season and will aim to get back to his hundred percent as the Cup Series edges closer.

Explaining his recovery path, Elliot while speaking to Bob Pockrass from Fox said, “The knee was definitely worse, just way more complex of an injury. But the rehab aspect of it? The shoulder, it’s been no joke, too. But the procedure itself, the shoulder was very simple and straightforward. My knee was not.”

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It will be interesting to see how both drivers cope with the challenges of the new season while recovering from surgeries.