FedEx Racing Express Facts – Watkins Glen International
Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Freight Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: I LOVE NEW YORK 355
Date/Time: August 6/3 PM ET
Distance: 90 Laps/220.5 Miles
Track Length: 2.45 miles
Track Shape: 11-Turn Road Course
2016 Winner: Denny Hamlin
Express Notes:
Pocono Recap: Denny Hamlin finished fourth in Sunday’s 160-lap Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway, combining tactful driving with Crew Chief Mike Wheeler’s calculated pit strategy to claim his seventh top-five finish of the 2017 season in the event won by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch. Executing the #11 FedEx team’s original pit strategy, Hamlin stayed out during the mandatory break between Stage 2 and Stage 3, and he lined up second next to Martin Truex Jr. to start the race’s final 60-lap segment. Hamlin was quick to challenge Truex Jr. for the top spot, but he was forced to settle for second after getting loose as a result of his persistent attempts to claim the lead. Green-flag pit stops in Stage 3 presented Hamlin and the #11 team with the opportunity they needed to reposition themselves for the lead. By lap 142, all of the leaders – including Hamlin – made their scheduled stops, and it was Hamlin that claimed the desired top spot once the field finished cycling through. Despite his best efforts to thwart off his competitors’ speed, Hamlin eventually succumbed to the race’s top-three drivers, and he crossed the start/finish line in fourth when the checkered flag flew.
Hamlin started Sunday’s 400-mile race in fourth after qualifying on the 2.5-mile Tricky Triangle earlier that race morning as a part of NASCAR’s two-day enhanced race weekend at Pocono. Despite battling a loose #11 FedEx Toyota Camry throughout Stage 1, Hamlin scored a seventh-place finish during the race’s first 50-lap segment. Unfortunately adversity soon followed after a speeding penalty on pit road forced him to restart Stage 2 from the tail-end of the field.
Watkins Glen Preview: The Series heads to Watkins Glen International for the second and final road-course race of the 2017 season. Hamlin captured his first-career road course win during last year’s trip to ‘The Glen,’ making a pass for the win with only 10 laps to go. In 11 starts at the 11-turn circuit, Hamlin has also notched five top-10 and two top-five finishes.
Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares: This season, FedEx is tying the performance of the #11 FedEx Toyota on the track to its efforts to improve road safety through a new program, Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares, by donating $111 for each lap Hamlin leads and $11,000 for each race victory to Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit working to protect kids on the road, at home and at play. FedEx will also contribute $111,000 to Safe Kids if the #11 team wins the 2017 NASCAR championship.
To date, Denny has led 250 laps and captured one win, and FedEx has donated $38,750 to Safe Kids through the Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares program. Fans can track the total amount donated to date from the Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares program on the homepage of FedExRacing.com.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Watkins Glen International
Races: 11
Wins: 1 (2016)
Top-5: 2
Top-10: 5
Poles: 0
Average Start: 14.5
Average Finish: 18.9
Laps Led: 10
Hamlin Conversation – WATKINS GLEN:
You’ve scored three top-five finishes in your last three road-course race starts. Can you continue that success this weekend at The Glen?
“Getting my first-ever road course win at Watkins Glen last year was huge for me and the FedEx team, especially after being just shy of the win at Sonoma (in 2016). We’ve definitely found our rhythm at road courses, and I have no doubt we can get a solid finish (at The Glen) this weekend.”
FedEx Freight’s Northborough, Mass. Service Center Along for the Ride at Watkins Glen: FedEx Freight’s Northborough, Mass., service center will be recognized this weekend at Watkins Glen by having the call letters “WOR” featured on the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota.
#11 FedEx Racing – 2017 Crew Roster
Crew Chief – Mike “Wheels” Wheeler
Car Chief – Leo Thorsen
Engineers – Justin Langdon, Sam McAuley
Shock Specialist – Drew Bible
Tire Specialist – Kerry Ferris
Mechanics – Tony Hamm, Scott Eldridge, Sean Kerlin
Spotter – Chris Lambert
Front Tire Changer: Dustin Necaise
Front Tire Carrier: Brandon Pegram
Rear Tire Changer: Mike Hicks
Rear Tire Carrier: Ben Fischbeck
Jack Man: Nate Bolling
Gas Man: Caleb Hurd
Transportation – Frank Hodel, Josh Collins
