RACE INFO:
Event: AAA Texas 500
Date/Time: Nov. 2/2:00 p.m. CT
2013 winner: Jimmie Johnson
2013 polesitter: Carl Edwards
Distance: 334 laps/501 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Banking: 24 degrees
Track Shape: Oval
EXPRESS NOTES:
Martinsville Recap: Denny Hamlin finished eighth in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota, leading 68 laps in the first event of the Eliminator Round of the Chase en route to his 14th top-10 finish in 18 career starts at the half-mile track. Hamlin pitted for right-side tires under the race’s final caution with six laps remaining, but was forced to restart sixth in the outside groove, losing a pair of spots in the final laps. A four-time Martinsville winner, Hamlin again showed his prowess at the flat ‘paper clip,’ posting a race-best 4.9 average running position in the event won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. The finish placed Hamlin fifth in the Chase standings following Martinsville, just seven markers behind leader Jeff Gordon with two races remaining in the third playoff segment.
Texas Preview: The Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 334-lap event at the fast 1.5-mile Fort Worth facility. Hamlin is a two-time Texas winner, sweeping a pair of races at the track in 2010. In 17 career races at Texas, Hamlin has posted eight top-10 finishes and has led 151 laps. Earlier this year, Hamlin started sixth and led 20 laps before a mid-race pit road speeding penalty and late-race miscue on pit road, where Hamlin slid through the box during the final stop, relegated the FedEx team to a 13th-place finish.
HAMLIN CONVERSATION – TEXAS:
What are your goals for the FedEx Team at Texas?
“Obviously, it would be great to get another win at Texas this weekend. Although it’s a fast, intermediate track that has been a weakness of our team this year, Texas has good tire fall off and really plays into the hands of drivers that have a good handling car over the course of long runs. Earlier this year, when I felt like we didn’t have the speed to compete with some of the top cars, we drove up and led laps at Texas, but didn’t get the finish to show for it. We need another solid day with no mistakes to put ourselves in position to advance to the final four. Certainly, our hope was to get a better result at Martinsville last Sunday, but we’re still in the thick of things. This segment of the Chase will require top-five finishes and hopefully we can achieve that this weekend.”
