[media-credit name=”talladegasuperspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”162″]
[/media-credit]RACE INFO:
Event: Aaron’s 499 Date/Time: May 6/12:00 p.m. CT
2011 winner: Jimmie
Johnson 2011 polesitter: Jeff Gordon
Distance: 188 laps/500 miles
Track Length: 2.66 miles
Banking: 33 degrees
Track Shape: Oval
EXPRESS NOTES: FedEx Racing Team Members to Visit Tuscaloosa: Denny Hamlin, Darian Grubb and a handful of crew members from the #11 FedEx Racing team will visit Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Thursdsay, May 3 in advance of this weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway to help a family move into a home that was built after last year’s devastating tornadoes in the area destroyed the original. It was the first home completed in the Alberta City neighborhood of Tuscaloosa. In addition, FedEx will donate $10,000 to the local chapter of the Salvation Army, as the two organizations continue to support disaster preparedness in local communities.
Tuscaloosa Along for the Ride at Talladega Superspeedway: To recognize the men and women who helped unload and organize supplies that were delivered to Tuscaloosa and other affected areas in Alabama after last year’s tornadoes, the FedEx Express ramp in Tuscaloosa will be honored with its “TCLA” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend.
Richmond Recap: Denny Hamlin piloted the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota to a solid fourth place finish in last weekend’s race at Richmond after battling handling issues for much of the night. The result propelled Hamlin up two spots to third in the standings. The FedEx team began the day on the inside of row four and quickly found the car loose on entry and exit. Working with Grubb to help tighten up the car, Hamlin received a third and final track bar adjustment with just inside 100 laps to go and holding onto eighth place. The critical adjustments by the FedEx crew began to payoff and Hamlin set his sights on again pushing for the race lead with 90 laps remaining. Hamlin demonstrated his short track driving prowess by maneuvering up to fifth place against tough opponents before the last caution of the night on lap 386 and Hamlin drove up to fourth by the checkered flag in the race won by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch.
Talladega Preview: The Series shifts to Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s 500-mile event on the 2.66-mile, high-banked oval. Hamlin has three top-five finishes and five top-10 results in 12 previous starts at the 2.66-mile high-banked oval, including a career-best third place run in the spring 2008 event. The #11 FedEx car has consistently been one of the fastest at Talladega over the years, with Hamlin leading at least one lap in his first 10 starts at the track, and has led 10 or more laps in six events. Hamlin finished eighth in the Chase race at Talladega last fall and fourth in the season’s first restrictor plate racing — the Daytona 500.
Race Series Date Start Finish Laps Led Good Sam Club 500 Sprint Cup Oct. 23, 2011 31 8 188/188 Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup April 17, 2011 29 23 188/188 Amp Energy Juice 500 Sprint Cup Oct. 31, 2010 17 9 188/188 4 Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup April 25, 2010 11 4 200/200 17 AMP Energy 500 Sprint Cup Nov. 1, 2009 9 38 137/191 11 Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup April 26, 2009 18 22 188/188 28 Amp Energy 500 Sprint Cup Oct. 5, 2008 37 39 98/190 9 Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup April 27, 2008 7 3 188/188 37 UAW-Ford 500 Nextel Cup Oct. 7, 2007 18 4 188/188 40 Aaron’s 499 Nextel Cup April 29, 2007 3 21 192/192 48 UAW-Ford 500 Nextel Cup Oct. 8, 2006 12 21 188/188 1 Aaron’s 499 Nextel Cup May 1, 2006 30 22 187/188 1 Averages/Totals 18.4 17.8 93.5% 196
FedEx Office – Closest to Talladega Superspeedway: 117 Resource Center Pkwy, Birmingham, AL 35242, (205) 981-0077
2012 FedEx Racing Press Kit – Available for Download: Please visit www.fedexracing.com/presskit for the 2012 FedEx Racing press materials, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Darian Grubb and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights, program statistics and 2012 crew roster.
HAMLIN CONVERSATION — Talladega Superspeedway Do you expect the rules to impact Talladega like they did at Daytona? “We hope so. I think that we hope it has the same effect. I think that the pack-racing that we had at Daytona was amazing. I thought it was great racing. The two car tandem didn’t win the race — that’s a good thing. Really, they got us to where we were running a fast enough speed that handling became somewhat of an issue. So, all those things I think will equal good racing at Talladega if they keep everything the way that it was. In Daytona, we kind of did our own thing and obviously I had a great shot to win. If the rules stay the same it will be a pack mostly because the temperatures were just so high at Daytona. So, I think that you really won’t have a partner until the very end when you try to link up on the last restart or something like that — like we tried to do at Daytona.”
2012 FEDEX RACING TEAM – SEASON RESULTS DATE EVENT LOCATION START FINISH LAPS STATUS WINNINGS LED PTS TREND
Feb. 27 Daytona 500 Daytona 31 4 202/202 Running $702,091 57 4th ▬ March 4 Subway Fresh Fit 500 Phoenix 13 1 312/312 Running $238,016 61 1st ▲ March 11 Kobalt Tools 400 Las Vegas 17 20 267/267 Running $140,321 3rd ▼ March 18 Food City 500 Bristol 20 20 498/500 Running $132,901 5th ▼ March 25 Auto Club 500 California 1 11 129/129 Running $149,771 2 7th ▼ April 1 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Martinsville 3 6 515/515 Running $128,101 31 7th ▬ April 14 Samsung Mobile 500 Texas 13 12 334/334 Running $166,221 6th ▲ April 22 STP 400 Kansas 4 1 267/267 Running $248,691 32 5th ▲ April 28 Capital City 400 Richmond 7 4 400/400 Running $152,801 3rd ▲ Averages/Totals 12.1 8.8 99.9% $2,058,914 183
