DENNY HAMLIN — #11 FEDEX OFFICETOYOTA CAMRY
RACE INFO:
Event: Good Sam 500 Date/Time: Aug. 7/1:00 p.m. ET 2010 winner: Greg Biffle 2010 polesitter: Tony Stewart
Distance: 200 laps/500 miles Track Length: 2.5 miles Banking: 14/8/6 degrees Track Shape: Triangle
EXPRESS NOTES:
Indianapolis Recap: Denny Hamlin and the FedEx Racing team endured a trying weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, culminating with a disappointing 27th-place finish in Sunday’s Brickyard 400. The #11 FedEx Express Toyota spent the last half of the race in the top-10 only to end up on the wrong side of the fuel strategy game by the time the checkered flag flew. Hamlin restarted seventh on Lap 126 (of 160), knowing he needed one more stop to make it the full distance on fuel. Crew chief Mike Ford called Hamlin to pit road for that stop five laps later, dropping the #11 FedEx Express Toyota to 30th in the running order. Unfortunately, the majority of lead lap cars were able to stretch their gas to the distance, and Hamlin was only able to make up three spots by the finish line. Battling a tight race car throughout the 400-mile event on the 2.5-mile oval, Hamlin worked from the rear of the field into the top-25 early in the race. The #11 moved into the
top-15 by Lap 35 after staying out under caution, and continued to improve spots as the laps clicked off. With track position at a premium, Hamlin battled to hang around the top-10 on long green flag runs. A multi-car incident on Lap 121 brought out the race’s final caution, and by the restart, the team was just outside its fuel window. The finish drops Hamlin one spot to 11th in the NASCAR point standings following Indianapolis, now 95 points behind leader Carl Edwards.
Pocono Preview: The Sprint Cup Series heads back to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway this weekend for NASCAR’s second 500-mile event in nine weeks at the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle.” Hamlin started fourth and led a race-high 76 laps at Pocono on June 12, but a flat-tire under caution which caused a snapped rear brake line late in the race resulted in a 19th-place finish. The 30-year-old driver finished fifth in the August 2010 race at Pocono and led 19 laps. Hamlin has four wins and eight top-six finishes in 11 starts at Pocono, winning most recently in back-to-back races in August 2009 and June 2010. He also recorded his first career Cup Series win at the track, when he swept both Pocono races from the pole during his rookie season in 2006. Hamlin has led a total of 574 laps (of 2,110 completed) at Pocono, leading at least 17 laps in eight of 11 races. His 9.2 average finishing position, 8.5 average running position and 118.6 driver rating are all best among active drivers with at least three starts at the track.
Libertyville Along for the Ride in Pocono: The FedEx Office location in Libertyville, Ill., is currently leading the company’s President’s Club program, and will be recognized with its “0277” code numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend.
HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Pocono Raceway:
Why have you been so successful at Pocono Raceway?
“It’s just one of those race tracks I’ve got a really, really good feel for, honestly. There’s not too many tracks where you feel like when you pull in you just can’t do wrong, but that’s kind of one of the places. Honestly, we feel like we should’ve won twice as many races there as what we have even though we’ve won a lot. It’s just every time we go there we’re in position to win the race or just about every time. Fuel or things like that doesn’t always help you complete the job, but we’ve had the fastest car there probably 80 percent of the time.”
Has there ever been this much parity in NASCAR?
“No, and you look and nobody is able to keep the points lead for longer than a couple weeks and then they drop out and somebody else takes over. It’s an extremely competitive year. I don’t think anybody has more than three wins. At this point last year, I think there were a few guys with over four wins. It’s becoming tougher and tougher and a lot of that is because these fuel mileage races are playing out to where who knows who is going to win until the final lap.”
2011 FEDEX RACING TEAM – SEASON RESULTS
DATE EVENT LOCATION START FINISH LAPS STATUS WINNINGS LED PTS TREND
Feb. 20 Daytona 500 Daytona 18 21 207/208 Running $328,363 7 19th ▬
Feb. 27 Subway Fresh Fit 500 Phoenix 12 11 312/312 Running $123,000 9 14th ▲
March 6 Kobalt Tools 400 Las Vegas 17 7 267/267 Running $159,300 0 8th ▲
March 20 Jeff Byrd 500 Bristol 25 33 488/500 Running $131,225 0 17th ▼
March 27 Auto Club 400 Auto Club 2 39 105/200 Engine $123,880 15 21st ▼
April 3 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Martinsville 5 12 500/500 Running $123,350 89 19th ▲
April 9 Samsung Mobile 500 Texas 23 15 333/334 Running $160,850 0 20th ▼
April 17 Aaron’s 499 Talladega 29 23 188/188 Running $133,425 0 17th ▲
April 30 Crown Royal 400 Richmond 11 2 400/400 Running $202,775 38 17th ▬
May 7 Showtime Southern 500 Darlington 3 6 370/370 Running $152,000 0 16th ▲
May 15 FedEx 400 Dover 26 16 400/400 Running $134,825 0 13th ▲
May 29 Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte 4 10 402/402 Running $165,800 24 12th ▲
June 5 STP 400 Kansas 15 3 267/267 Running $183,950 34 11th ▲
June 12 5-Hour Energy 500 Pocono 4 19 200/200 Running $126,675 76 12th ▼
June 19 Heluva Good! 400 Michigan 10 1 200/200 Running $202,200 8 9th ▲
June 26 Toyota/SaveMart 350 Sonoma 4 37 99/110 Running $121,350 12 11th ▼
July 2 Coke Zero 400 Daytona 36 13 170/170 Running $145,450 4 11th ▬
July 9 Quaker State 400 Kentucky 26 11 267/267 Running $128,950 5 10th ▲
July 17 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 New Hampshire 14 3 301/301 Running $170,675 0 10th ▬
July 31 Brickyard 400 Indianapolis 14 27 160/160 Running $185,625 0 11th ▼
Averages/Totals 14.9 15.4 97.9% $3,203,668 321 2011 FEDEX RACING – TEAM ROSTER
Crew Chief: Mike Ford– Morristown, Tenn. Front Tire Changer: Nick Krizmanich – Kenosha, Wis.
Car Chief: Chris “Spider” Gillin – Smithtown, N.Y. Front Tire Carrier: Brandon Pegram – Statesville, N.C.
Engineer: Mike Wheeler – Southholt, N.Y. Rear Tire Changer: Mike Hicks – Salisbury, N.C.
Shocks: Drew Bible – Coldwater, Mich. Rear Tire Carrier: Heath Cherry – Belmont, N.C.
Tire Specialist: Patrick Mullen – Brick, N.J. Jackman: Nate Bolling – Swanton, Ohio
Engine Tuner: Chris Woodward – Franklin, N.H. Gas Man: Scott Wood – Liberty, S.C.
Mechanic: Rick Bray – Placerville, Calif. Pit Crew Coordinator: Paul Alepa – Vienna, Va.
Mechanic: John Furino – Long Island, N.Y. JGR Athletic Director: Michael Lepp – Charlotte, N.C.
Spotter: Curtis Markham – Fredericksburg, Va.
Hauler Driver: Jerry Hess – Lancaster, Pa.
Hauler Driver: Frank Hodel – Blythe, Calif.
