Denny Hamlin aggravates shoulder injury in fall

Field Level Media|published: 02/04/2026, 5:22pm EST

Feb 4, 2026; WInston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) out of turn four during practice for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Despite aggravating a shoulder injury in a fall, NASCAR driver/owner Denny Hamlin told reporters on Wednesday that he will not have surgery and plans to compete in the 2026 NASCAR season.

Hamlin, 45, fell while going through the debris of the December house fire that killed his father and critically injured his mother. Hamlin had surgery to repair a torn labrum in the 2023-24 offseason and told reporters on Wednesday that he had been feeling the effects of the torn labrum.

"So I'm going to have to go the rest of the season the way I was before there," Hamlin told reporters. "I don't think that it ever healed properly. Just noticed some issues, really kind of right after the season. It just was nagging me a little bit. Took a little fall at my mom's house, going through all the rubble and stuff and just didn't feel right. Got it rescanned and re-tore it again."

Hamlin told reporters that his mother, Mary Lou Hamlin, 69, was improving and had traveled to be with family in Florida. Dennis Hamlin, 75, Denny's father, died from his injuries suffered in a fire at the elder Hamlins' home in Stanley, N.C., which occurred on Dec. 28.

The 2026 NASCAR season gets underway with The Clash on Wednesday and the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15.

Denny Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing with basketball legend Michael Jordan. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series standings in 2025 after winning six races, bringing his career total to 60 wins at the sport's top level.

Earlier this month, Hamlin's team and Front Row Motorsports settled a multimillion-dollar antitrust lawsuit with NASCAR.

--Field Level Media