"I am confident in Alex Bowman's ability" - Denny Hamlin empathises with HMS driver as he recovers from back injuries

Veteran NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin empathized with Alex Bowman, who continues to recover from the sprint race crash early in the season, where he fractured his vertebra.

Hamlin spoke from experience, as he knows the pain Bowman has suffered through the season. The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver suffered from a compression fracture in 2013 at the California Speedway, which put him on the sidelines for four weeks.

Denny Hamlin insisted that Bowman will recover completely in the off-season with the help of Chevy trainer Josh Wise. Hamlin, who is currently recovering from an off-season shoulder surgery, told NBC Sports:

"Alex has the resources that he has with Team Chevy or Josh Wise or whatever. I mean, it’s top-notch. People within Hendrick Motorsports have got an amazing facility there that they train their pit crews and all that."

Hamlin expressed his confidence in the abilities of the #48 Hendrick Motorsports driver once he has fully recovered in the off-season. He said:

"I am confident in Alex’s ability to get back where he was, and I think that this offseason will probably create an opportunity for him to get healthy."

"Looking at the timeline of when he had his accident, the start of the season is about when that timeline starts to turn where he probably will start feeling the slips and angles of the car that he once did before. So it’s a restart, refresh and, certainly, both physically and mentally, will be a great reset," he added.

Denny Hamlin suggested that drivers cannot operate at their fullest when recovering from back injuries. Hamlin also insisted drivers cannot feel the car and often cannot correct the car when it is on the edge.

The back injuries hampered Alex Bowman's results in the second half of the season, as was evident by the results. He racked up six top-10s in the first seven races and briefly led the standings. However, since his comeback, he managed to put together four top 10s in the 22 races.

Bowman expects to full recovery before 2024 and hopes to compete for wins in the next season.

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Denny Hamlin opens up about the rise in fan following and haters

Denny Hamlin's off-track shenanigans reached a new high in 2023 when he delivered the iconic line to the spectators - "I beat your favorite driver", post-victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Hamlin's popularity has skyrocketed this season along with the increase in his haters. The #11 Toyota driver credited the rise in fame to his podcast Actions Detrimental, and his opinionated takes on various topics.

"I have this platform to give my opinion. A lot of it was [fan uproar] because I am opinionated. I do believe that I have more fans than I have ever had. However, the counter Denny Hamlin fans, the ones who don’t like me at all, are louder than they have ever been," he said on Dale Jr. Download.

Hamlin's podcast has been a hit among fans, where he delves into the inner workings of the sport and provides race recaps.