Sportsfrog.com

Some of you will take issue with the word “playing.” Sorry, it’s a good headline.

Denny Hamlin, one of the top drivers in Sprint Cup, tore his ACL Friday playing pickup basketball.

And since the season unofficially starts in two weeks, Hamlin will have to wait until around Thanksgiving to have the surgery.

Yikes.

The injury was to Hamlin’s left knee, which is his braking leg, so the circumstances could be worse. The ACL primarily is involved in stabilization during knee flexion and Hamlin shouldn’t be extremely hampered because the angle of a driver’s knee doesn’t change much during the course of a race. Some modifications will probably have to be made, however, to the cockpit of Hamlin’s car to allow him more room to extend his leg.

But where Hamlin is going to feel it most is outside of the car. Getting around for seven months with a torn ACL has to be a chore.