Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: Bank of America 500
Date/Time: October 8/2 PM ET
Distance: 334 Laps/500 Miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Track Shape: Quad-oval
2016 Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Express Notes:
Dover Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 35th in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway after brushing the wall on lap 374 of the 400-lap race following a broken axle on the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota. Despite having to retire early from the race, Hamlin still collected enough points to secure his spot in the NASCAR Playoffs Round of 12 as four fellow competitors were eliminated from Championship contention. Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch was victorious, followed by Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson. Hamlin’s finished dropped him to seventh in the NASCAR Playoffs standings, only two points behind sixth-place contender Kevin Harvick.
International Walk to School Day: Hamlin teamed up with FedEx Cares, Safe Kids Worldwide and local Safe Kids Worldwide chapter, Safe Kids Charlotte Mecklenburg, to celebrate “International Walk to School Day” with Cotswold Elementary school students today, Wednesday, Oct. 4. Following the walk, The #11 FedEx team signaled the students into school where Hamlin and representatives from FedEx, Safe Kids Worldwide and Cotswold Elementary School talked to the students about the importance of pedestrian safety.
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. To date, Denny has led 391 laps and captured two Cup Series wins, and FedEx has donated $65,401 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 www.fedexracing.com.
Charlotte Preview: The second Round of the 2017 NASCAR Playoffs – the Round of 12 – kicks off this Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway with 500 miles around NASCAR’s ‘home’ track. Hamlin returns to the 1.5-mile quad-oval ready for victory after finishing fifth at the Coca-Cola 600 back in May, his seventh top-five and 15th top-ten finish at the track. After dealing with engine failure while running second during this race last October, Hamlin is looking to make a strong comeback this weekend to secure his seat in the next NASCAR Playoffs Round of 8.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Races: 24
Wins: 0
Top-5: 7
Top-10: 15
Poles: 1
Average Start: 11.2
Average Finish: 12.8
Laps Led: 302
Hamlin Conversation – CHARLOTTE:
What’s your strategy leading into this next Round of the NASCAR Playoffs?
“We’re racing to win each weekend and secure our spot in that next Round (of the Playoffs). We had a disappointing weekend in Dover, but learned a lot that should help us moving forward. This is a long race (this weekend), and we just need to focus on keeping our pit stops clean and maximizing our track position to be there at the end.”
