Denny Hamlin, the driver many consider to be Jimmy Johnson’s main threat for the 2010 Sprint Cup Series championship, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while playing basketball with friends on Friday.

Hamlin’s injury comes just two weeks before the start of the 2010 Sprint Cup season, which means that if he decided to have surgery to repair the ligament now, he would miss part of the season due to recovery. Hamlin instead will wait until after the season to have surgery.

The injury is not expect to affect Hamlin’s ability to drive the car, as it is on his clutch leg.