By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) Denny Hamlin raced 10 days after having surgery to repair the torn ACL in his left knee, and skipped a chance to get out of the car during an extended pit stop for repair work on the car.
When there was a caution for debris on lap 135 Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway, Hamlin came in for his crew to repair damage behind the front right tire and attempt to solve an ongoing electrical problem by changing the batteries.
Hamlin opted to stay in the car, not giving way to relief driver Casey Mears who was standing by if needed. Even without making the driver switch, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota dropped two laps behind the leaders on the stop. There was trouble changing the batteries, then the car stalled after pulling away and had to be pushed back down pit road.
While clearly upset on the radio about what happened, since he had moved up from his 26th starting spot to 13th before pitting, Hamlin never mentioned anything about his knee or the possibility of getting out of the car.
Before the hobbled Hamlin started the race, he indicated that the 50-lap mark could be an indication of whether he would go ahead and complete all 375 laps on the oddly shaped mile-long track where braking is often at a premium.
Hamlin was still having electrical issues after the battery change. The right-side damage came after he got hit only 15 laps into the race.
After Kurt Busch apparently got loose and made contact with Kasey Kahne ahead of him on lap 15, Hamlin drove to the bottom of the track. But the nose of Busch's car hit the side of Hamlin's car.
Hamlin injured his knee playing basketball in January. He had hoped to put off surgery until after the season, but instead had surgery March 31, two days after his victory at Martinsville in the last NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
Hamlin had an ice bag draped over his left knee in the garage before getting into the car.
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