Denny Hamlin will have to compensate somewhat behind the wheel because of his hand injury. Credit: Autostock

Hamlin smarting from hand injury, but ready

Driver of No. 11 Chevrolet qualifies seventh for Crown Royal 400

RICHMOND, Va. -- Denny Hamlin isn't looking for a handout this weekend at Richmond International Raceway.

Literally.

The rookie out of Joe Gibbs Racing needed 19 stitches on Wednesday after nearly ripping all the skin from the pinky side of his left hand during a freak accident following testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Crown Royal 400 Qualifying Results Pos. Driver Speed Time 1. G. Biffle 127.395 21.194 2. M. Martin 127.029 21.255 3. C. Mears 126.862 21.283 4. B. Vickers 126.648 21.319 5. J. Johnson 126.576 21.331 6. K. Kahne 126.487 21.346 7. D. Hamlin 126.393 21.362 8. K. Harvick 126.310 21.376 9. C. Edwards 126.310 21.376 10. Dale Jr. 126.280 21.381 • Complete Lineup, click here Practice Speeds Pos. Driver Speed Time 1. J. Burton 125.529 21.509 2. Ku. Busch 125.360 21.538 3. D. Hamlin 125.267 21.554 4. B. Vickers 125.168 21.571 5. T. Stewart 125.070 21.588 • Complete Speeds, click here Garage PassDenny Hamlin will race despite 19 stitches in his hand Pole positionGreg Biffle leads an all-Roush front row at Richmond FedEx PreviewNBC/TNT's Marty Snider previews the action heading to Richmond Weather forecastCNN/Headline News forecasts the weather for Richmond Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836 HAMLIN HURTS HAND Denny Hamlin injured his hand while having some fun this week at Lowe's Motor Speedway.  •   Complete story, click here

Although Mike Bliss came to RIR as a backup driver, Hamlin has no plan to get out of his No. 11 Chevrolet fitted with extra foam padding on the steering wheel.

"It's still throbbing quite a bit,'' Hamlin said of his hand as he looked ahead to Saturday night's Cup race. "When you see bone it's not too good. But they did a great job of putting me all back together. Now I feel like brand new again.''

JGR trainer Al Shuford accompanied Hamlin to the track to monitor the injury and change the rather extensive bandaging three times a day. Hamlin is not allowed to take heavy pain medication while competing.

"I definitely have to learn to drive a little differently,'' Hamlin said. "Usually, I'm using my left hand to chug down on the wheel quite a bit. I've been using mostly my right hand, and using my left hand just to guide it.''

The injury didn't greatly hinder Hamlin during a full Friday that included Cup and Busch practices and qualifying, and a Busch race.

Hamlin had the third-fastest lap during Friday's Cup practice and qualified seventh.

"Now that I've gotten out of the car, it certainly is starting to hurt a lot worse,'' Hamlin said after a 30-lap Cup practice. "But when you're in the car you just don't think about it as much as you would.''

The events leading to the injury were comical. They began when the scoring system at LMS posted Jarrett with a lap of 9 seconds around the 1.5-mile track that typically takes 30 seconds to circle.

A member of Hamlin's team jokingly said a car couldn't run around the quarter-mile Legends track at LMS in 9 seconds.

"I took it a step further and said I bet you can't run 9 seconds in a footrace around the tractor trailer,'' Hamlin said. "One of the guys said, 'Put a hundred bucks up and I'll take that bet.' He did it in 8.99 [seconds].''

That led to another bet, double-or-nothing, that Hamlin couldn't make the same run under 9 seconds.

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"We started at the back,'' said Hamlin, who is 19th in points. "When I came around the front I was looking for something to grab hold of to sling me around the front of the truck.

"When I did that I felt like a pinch in my hand. I kept on running, but when I was running down the side of the trailer I looked and part of my hand was hanging off. But I kept on going and finished in 8.90.''

The next race was to see how fast Hamlin could get to the nearest doctor for treatment.

"It's a good thing it was held on by a little piece of skin at the very end of my pinky,'' said Hamlin, adding he also lost a "chunk'' of his ring finger.

But Hamlin, a native of Chesterfield, Va., never considered not running at what he considers his home track.

"It was one of those deals where Joe [team owner Joe Gibbs] told us a long time ago, 'If you're going to be dumb, you've got to be tough,' " Hamlin said. "We're going to have to be tough this weekend.''