FedEx Racing Express Facts – Watkins Glen International

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Freight Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Cheez-It 355
Date/Time: Aug. 7/2:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 90 laps/220.5 miles
Track Length: 2.45 miles
Track Shape: 11-turn Road Course
2014 Winner: Joey Logano

Pocono Recap: Denny Hamlin finished seventh in Monday’s rain-postponed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway, posting his 10th top-10 of the season in the #11 FedEx Toyota. Rookie Chris Buescher was declared the winner after the race cut short by 22 laps due to a fog bank that blanketed the 2.5-mile speedway. Hamlin lined up eighth for the final restart with 51 laps to go and made a bold three-wide pass in Turn 1 to move up to seventh. With enough fuel to make it to the checkers, the FedEx team was poised to challenge the leaders for the win. However, the unanticipated fog moved in quickly and was too thick for the race to continue, foiling the team’s hopes. Hamlin started fourth and immediately jumped up to third before falling back to 17th after Paul Menard had a transmission issue directly in front of Hamlin on a restart. Hamlin spent the next 60 laps mired in the field, just inside the top-20. Hamlin’s day began to turn around at the halfway point in the race when crew chief Mike Wheeler made a strategic call to stay out during a caution to gain track position.

Watkins Glen Preview: The Series heads to Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International for the second and final road course race of the season. Hamlin has four top-10 finishes in 10 previous starts at the 2.45-mile, 11-turn circuit. Earlier this year, Hamlin led 33 laps and finished second in the previous road course race at Sonoma Raceway, matching his best-career road course finish set at Watkins Glen in 2007.

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Watkins Glen International
Races: 10
Wins: 0
Top-5: 1
Top-10: 4
Average Start: 15.4
Average Finish: 20.7
Laps Led: 0

Hamlin Conversation — WATKINS GLEN:

How can you take the success at Sonoma Raceway to Watkins Glen this weekend?

“Obviously, the two road courses are very different. Sonoma is a technical track and Watkins Glen is very fast and sweeping. It’ll be interesting to get up there on the new surface to see the grip level in these cars, but certainly, running up front at Sonoma gives us a boost of confidence heading into Watkins Glen this weekend. I’m still looking for that first road course win in the Cup Series, and hopefully we can close the deal on Sunday.”

Rochester, N.Y., Along for the Ride at Watkins Glen: The FedEx Freight Service Center in Rochester, N.Y., will be recognized for outstanding performance with its “ROC” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota this weekend at Watkins Glen International.