Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Ground Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: Toyota Owners 400
Date/Time: April 21/6:30p.m. ET
Distance: 400 laps/300 miles
Track Length: 0.75 miles
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 14 degrees
2017 Winner: Joey Logano
Express Notes:
Press Kit: Download the 2018 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Mike Wheeler and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.
Bristol Recap: Denny Hamlin came back from three laps down to finish 14th in Monday’s rain-postponed Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Nearly three-fifths of the 500-lap event had to be completed Monday after persistent rain on Sunday forced NASCAR to move the finish to the following day after 204 laps were complete. Hamlin was in second place when Sunday ended, and after the race resumed on Monday, he ran among the top-five early on. He finished Stage 2 in fourth on lap 250 and was primed to breakthrough with his first win of the season. Unfortunately, a loose wheel on an early pit stop in the final stage forced Hamlin to pit from the lead under green. Hamlin dropped in the running order and had to work with crew chief Mike Wheeler for the remainder of the event on differing strategies to try to make up the lost track position. The team utilized the wave around and earned the free pass to get back on the lead lap with 100 laps to go, but restarting at the tail end of the field proved difficult, as Hamlin stalled out. One late race caution bunched the field and Hamlin took the checkered flag in 14th. The result moved Hamlin up to eighth in the Series standings.
Richmond Preview: The series heads to Richmond Raceway for Saturday’s 400-lap race under the lights at Hamlin’s hometown track. The Chesterfield, Va., native has two wins at the three-quarter-mile speedway and has a led a career-best 1,653 laps around the Virginia oval. Hamlin picked up two of his ten career top-five finishes at Richmond in 2017 following a third-place finish in the spring and a fifth-place finish in the fall.
Short Track Showdown Returns: Denny Hamlin’s Short Track Showdown returns after a two-year hiatus to Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va. on Thursday, April 19. Joining Hamlin for the 200-lap pro-am late model charity race is Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch as well as NASCAR veteran Timothy Peters. All proceeds from the Short Track Showdown will benefit the Denny Hamlin Foundation, which supports Cystic Fibrosis research and therapy.
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 2018 NASCAR championship. New for the 2018 season, the Denny Hamlin Foundation will also match the total donation to Safe Kids Worldwide.
Hamlin led four laps at Bristol Motor Speedway on Monday, generating a $444 donation to Safe Kids on behalf of FedEx. After eight regular season races, Hamlin has led 209 laps resulting in an $23,199 donation to Safe Kids Worldwide which will ultimately be matched by the Denny Hamlin Foundation. 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: Richmond Raceway
Races: 23
Wins: 3
Poles: 3 (Series-best among active drivers)
Top-5: 10
Top-10: 14
Laps Led: 1,653 (career-best & Series-best)
Avg. Start: 10
Avg. Finish: 9.6
Hamlin Conversation:
After two top-five finishes at Richmond in 2017, how confident do you feel heading into this weekend’s race?
“Obviously after some unfortunate circumstances in Bristol, I’m looking forward to returning to Richmond where I know we can be competitive. This #11 FedEx team is more motivated than ever to get a win, and competing in from my hometown crowd always adds some an extra incentive.”
