FEDEX RACING EXPRESS FACTS — CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

[media-credit name=”charlottemotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]RACE INFO:

Event: Coca-Cola 600 Date/Time: May 27/6 p.m. ET 2011 winner: Kevin Harvick

2011 polesitter: Brad Keselowski

Distance: 400 laps/600 miles Track Length: 1.5 miles Banking: 24 degrees

Track Shape: Quad-Oval

EXPRESS NOTES: All-Star Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 20th in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway after the handling of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota went away for the final 10-lap segment in the event won by Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin started third in the 90-lap exhibition, comprised of four 20-lap segments followed by a 10-lap dash to the checkered flag. The 31-year-old Virginia native, making his sixth All-Star start, led 16 laps on Saturday night, but an ill-handling machine late in the race dropped him in the running order. Johnson won his third All-Star Race, and was followed to the finish line by Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. On Thursday, the FedEx Racing team finished second in the Sprint All-Star Pit Crew Challenge in Charlotte. The two-time defending #11 over-the-wall crew made it to the final round for the third-straight year, but were edged out in the championship round by the #48 team.

Charlotte Preview: The Series returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, the season’s longest race. Hamlin is making his 14th-career points race start at Charlotte on Sunday, and seventh start in the Coke 600. He owns six top-10 finishes in 13 starts at the 1.5-mile oval, including three-straight dating back to the fall 2010 Charlotte event — a fourth-place result during his runner-up Chase campaign. The #11 FedEx team finished 10th and ninth at Charlotte one season ago, respectively. In last year’s Coke 600, Hamlin nearly took the checkered flag first after starting third for the final ‘green-white-checkered’ restart, but ran out of fuel at the end of the back straightaway and had to coast to the finish line in the event won by Kevin Harvick. Hamlin finished eighth in his first-career race at Charlotte in the fall 2005 event, and has led a total of 110 laps at the track.

Race                    Series          Date Start           Finish          Laps               Led Bank of America 500     Sprint Cup      Oct. 15, 2011 15              9               334/334 Coca-Cola 600           Sprint Cup      May 29, 2011 4               10              402/402         24 Bank of America 500     Sprint Cup      Oct. 16, 2010 24              4               334/334         1 Coca-Cola 600           Sprint Cup      May 30, 2010 7               18              400/400           3 NASCAR Banking 500      Sprint Cup      Oct. 17, 2009 17              42              192/334           54 Coca-Cola 600           Sprint Cup      May. 25, 2009 13              11              227/227 Bank of America 500     Sprint Cup      Oct. 11, 2008 12              16              334/334 Coca-Cola 600           Sprint Cup      May 25, 2008 16              24              399/400          1 Bank of America 500     Nextel Cup       Oct. 13, 2007 11              20              337/337 Coca-Cola 600           Nextel Cup      May 27, 2007 6               9               400/400          1 Bank of America 500     Nextel Cup      Oct. 14, 2006 22              28              265/334 Coca-Cola 600           Nextel Cup      May 28, 2006 8               9               400/400          25 UAW-GM Quality 500      Nextel Cup      Oct. 15, 2005 39              8               336/336          1 Averages/Totals 15.0            16.0            95.4%             110

FedEx Office – Closest to Charlotte Motor Speedway: 7741 Gateway Lane NW, Ste 110, Concord, NC 28027, (704) 979-1971

Carolina District Along for the Ride at Charlotte: The FedEx Ground Carolina district will be recognized for its safety performance with its district code “CARO” on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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 — Charlotte Motor Speedway Is your approach to the Coke 600 different than a regular race weekend? I don’t notice it being that much different, but just it gives everyone more time to work on their car and get it better.  The last 100 miles physically you’re splitting hairs — the difference between 400 to 500 and then 500 to 600.  For us, it’s more patience than anything.  I don’t think it’s a whole lot more physically demanding. Of course attrition is always a part of it, whether it be engine or car or driver or things like that.  I don’t think there’s any more difficulty, it’s just tough to keep your focus and keep you patience for a 600-mile race.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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