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[/media-credit]RACE INFO:
Event: Quicken Loans 400
Date/Time: June 17/1 p.m. ET
2011 winner: Denny Hamlin
2011 polesitter: Kurt Busch
Distance: 200 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 2 miles
Banking: 18 degrees Track
Shape: Oval
EXPRESS NOTES: Pocono Recap: Denny Hamlin finished fifth in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, overcoming early miscues to drive through the field for his seventh top-five result of the 2012 season. Hamlin restarted fourth following the 160-lap event’s final caution with nine laps remaining but was too tight to challenge eventual winner — and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate — Joey Logano, who scored his second-career win. Logano was followed to the checkered flag by Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin started fifth in the #11 FedEx Express Toyota and dove the inside of turn one on the first lap at the newly-paved ‘Tricky Triangle.’ The car got loose and Hamlin washed up the track a bit, making contact with Carl Edwards. Caution for another incident later in the lap allowed Hamlin to come to pit road for repairs, and more yellow flags early in the race allowed the team to work back the track position. Nearing the race’s midpoint at the start of green flag pit stops, Hamlin was going to pit for four tires and fuel, but he ran out of gas at the exit of turn one and had to coast around to pit road. He lost a lap to the leaders in the process, but used the ‘wave around’ a short time later to get back on the lead lap. Another caution came just outside the team’s fuel window to make it the distance — and Hamlin stayed on the track while others pitted. Two late yellows gave Hamlin enough gas to stretch it to the end, and the four-time Pocono winner was rewarded for the team’s hard effort throughout the day. The finish keeps Hamlin fourth in the NASCAR point standings following Pocono, 19 markers behind leader Matt Kenseth after 14 of 26 regular season races.
Michigan Preview: The Series heads to Michigan International Speedway (MIS) for Sunday’s 400-mile event on the newly-paved two-mile oval. Hamlin is the two-time defending June race winner at MIS, capturing his lone victory of 2011 by holding off Matt Kenseth on a late-race restart to the checkered flag. Hamlin was dominant at Michigan in his 2010 Cup Series runner-up campaign, leading a race-high 123 of 200 laps en route to victory lane. The 31-year-old driver is making his 13th career Cup Series start at Michigan this weekend, and has seven top-10 finishes in 12 events. Hamlin has not finished worse than third in the last three spring races at MIS, including a pair of victories and a third place run (2009). In the most recent trip to Michigan last August, Hamlin started fourth but contact with the wall sent the team to the garage for repairs and a 35th-place result, 12 laps down.
Race Series Date Start Finish Laps (Led) Pure Michigan 400 Sprint Cup Aug. 21, 2011 4 35 188/200 Heluva Good! 400 Sprint Cup June 19, 2011 10 1 200/200 8 Carfax 400 Sprint Cup Aug. 15, 2010 33 2 200/200 12 Heluva Good! 400 Sprint Cup June 13, 2010 7 1 200/200 123 Carfax 400 Sprint Cup Aug. 16, 2009 16 10 200/200 2 Life Lock 400 Sprint Cup June 14, 2009 14 3 200/200 1 3M Performance 400 Sprint Cup Aug. 17, 2008 37 39 194/200 Lifelock 400 Sprint Cup June 15, 2008 5 14 203/203 1 3M Performance 400 Nextel Cup Aug. 21, 2007 8 5 203/203 Citizens Bank 400 Nextel Cup June 17, 2007 7 14 199/200 1 GFS Marketplace 400 Nextel Cup Aug. 20, 2006 9 9 200/200 3M Performance 400 Nextel Cup June 18, 2006 21 12 129/200 Averages/Totals 14.2 12.1 99.1% 148
FedEx Office – Closest to Michigan International Speedway: 2800 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104, (734) 665-2400
Santee, Calif., Along for the Ride in Michigan: The FedEx Office location in Santee, Calif. is currently leading the company’s President’s Club program, and will be recognized with its “2060” store numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend at Michigan International 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 — Michigan International Speedway What are your expectations heading into Michigan this weekend? “I’m not sure what to expect at Michigan. I know it’s going to be fast after seeing what Kyle (Busch) and the guys said after they tested there, but you never know how a race is going to play out. Obviously, all of these tracks that are getting repaved, it’s tough to make a tire that wears off enough to get a lot of passing, and most people are forced to run one groove, but Michigan is so wide and fast that hopefully it will give guys the opportunity to move around a little bit. That was always the best part about Michigan — moving your car around during the course of a run to see where it is at its best. For me, that’s what I hope happens on Sunday.”
