Denny Hamlin
11 FedEx Freight Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race: Food City Dirt Race
Date/Time: March 28/3:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 250 laps/125 miles
Track Length: .533 miles
Track Shape: Oval
2020 Winner (pavement): Brad Keselowski
Express Notes:
Press Kit: Download the 2021 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.
Atlanta Recap: Denny Hamlin padded his championship points lead with his third straight top-five finish, bringing home a fourth-place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The #11 FedEx Express team started the race on the pole and led the first 27 laps but didn’t have the speed to be out front beyond that early surge. Hamlin and his pit crew were fast all day, but not fast enough to pass the dominant car of Kyle Larson, who led 269 laps and appeared headed for the win until Ryan Blaney passed him for the lead with nine laps to go. The fourth-place run was Hamlin’s fifth top-five finish in the season’s six races and enough to extend his lead atop the standings to 43 points.
Bristol Outlook: The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 250-lap event on a temporary, dirt-covered track for the series’ first dirt race in more than 50 years. Hamlin’s dirt-racing experience is in his distant past. He competed on dirt courses on karts in his childhood and in a handful of late model races more than a decade ago. Hamlin is a two-time winner at the traditional, paved Bristol track.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (pavement)
Races: 30
Wins: 2
Top-5: 9
Top-10: 14
Laps Led: 829
Avg. Start: 13.2
Avg. Finish: 14.7
Hamlin Conversation – Bristol:
How are you and the team preparing the car to race on Bristol’s dirt track as it differs from normal surfaces?
“Our cars aren’t built for dirt, but we’ll make adjustments to the chassis and whatever’s needed. I personally have very little dirt experience, but I love dirt racing. I’m a fan of it. Hopefully it will live up to the hype.”
How do you think the field is going to adapt to such a different type of racing?
“It’s going to be different than anything we’ve done before. Who knows how it will turn out? But all the Cup guys know how to put on a show, regardless of their dirt experience, so I’m confident we’ll do that.”
FedEx Freight Along for the Ride at Bristol: For the Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway, FedEx Freight recognizes the company’s northwest Kingsport, Tenn., service center by featuring the call letters KPT on the #11 FedEx Freight race car. The Kingsport service center, opened in 1995, has approximately 80 team members who are committed to making every FedEx experience outstanding.
