Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Ground Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: 1000Bulbs.com 500
Date/Time: Sunday, Oct. 14/2 p.m. ET
Race Distance: 188 Laps/500.8 Miles
Track Shape: Tri-Oval
Track Length: 2.66 Miles
Banking: 33 degrees
2017 Winner: Brad Keselowski
Express Notes:
Dover Recap: Denny Hamlin finished second in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, capitalizing on a pair of late-race cautions to secure his best finish of the 2018 season and career-best result at the “Monster Mile.” Hamlin lined up second alongside Chase Elliott for a two-lap overtime shootout, but was never able to challenge for the victory, crossing the finish line 0.265 seconds behind Elliott. Hamlin started 15th after rain on Friday cancelled qualifying, and he methodically moved up in the running order during the race’s first two stages. His strong suit was the long run, utilizing stretched out green flag stints to pick off positions. He finished 12th in Stage 1 and ninth in Stage 2.
Talladega Preview: The Series returns to Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s 500-mile race around the 2.5-mile track. In 25 starts at Talladega, Hamlin has secured five top-five and nine top-10 finishes, and captured his first and only win at the 2.66-mile track in spring 2014, which marked his first points-paying restrictor plate victory.
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. New for the 2018 season, the Denny Hamlin Foundation will also match the total donation to Safe Kids Worldwide.
After 30 total races this season, Hamlin has led 308 laps resulting in a $34,188 donation to Safe Kids Worldwide that 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.
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.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Races: 25
Wins: 1
Poles: 0
Top-5: 5
Top-10: 9
Laps Led: 302
Avg. Start: 17.2
Avg. Finish: 18.1
Hamlin Conversation – Talladega:
“Last weekend (at Dover) was a step in the right direction for our FedEx team, and I’m already excited to get back on track so we can hopefully keep our momentum going. Obviously anything can happen at a track like Talladega, but our goal is to stay strong and put ourselves in a position where we can contend for a win.”
FedEx Ground Along for the Ride at Talladega: This weekend at Talladega, the code letters “QDM” will be featured on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota to recognize three FedEx Ground teams who were semifinalists for an enterprise-wide award based on their Quality Driver Management efforts.
