RACE INFO: Event: Federated Auto Parts 400
Date/Time: Sept. 6/7:30 p.m. ET
2013 winner: Carl Edwards
2013 polesitter: Jeff Gordon
Distance: 400 laps/300 miles
Track Length: 0.750-mile
Banking: 14 degrees
Track Shape: Oval
EXPRESS NOTES:
Atlanta Recap: Denny Hamlin finished third in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, crossing the finish line behind winner Kasey Kahne and teammate Matt Kenseth after the second ‘green-white-checkered’ attempt at the 1.5-mile oval in the #11 SportClips Toyota. Hamlin started 17th and quickly worked his way into the top-10 on the slick, worn out Atlanta surface. Lightning fast pit stops throughout the night kept the #11 team in the top-five for the majority of the event, with Hamlin leading six times for a total of 37 laps during the race. After a pair of late-race cautions, Hamlin lined up second for the final restart, but was unable to carry his momentum into Turn 1 in the high line, as Kahne split Hamlin and Kenseth through the corner to capture the lead. The third-place result was Hamlin’s sixth top-10 finish in the last eight races.
Richmond Preview: The Series heads to Richmond International Raceway for Saturday night’s 400-lap event on the three-quarter-mile oval, and the final regular season race of the 2014 campaign for Hamlin in the #11 FedEx Express Toyota. Hamlin, from nearby Chesterfield, Va., is a two-time Cup winner at the track, capturing the checkered flag in back-to-back September races at Richmond in 2009 and 2010. Hamlin’s 112.5 driver rating at Richmond is the best among active drivers at the track, where he has led 1,390 of 6,410 laps (21.6%) in his career. Earlier this season, Hamlin finished 22nd at the track after contact with less than 10 laps to go.
HAMLIN CONVERSATION – RICHMOND:
