FedEx Racing Express Facts – Bristol Motor Speedway
Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Express Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race
Date/Time: Aug. 20/8:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 500 laps/266.5 miles
Track Length: 0.533-mile
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 24-28 degrees
2015 Winner: Joey Logano
Watkins Glen Recap: Denny Hamlin won his first career road course race in the most-recent NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen on August 7, executing the winning pass with just 10 laps to go and holding off a hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. Hamlin lined up third behind leader Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch for a restart with 10 laps to go. As the leaders raced each other hard into the first turn, they overdrove the corner and Hamlin dove to the inside and took the lead before another caution flew. Hamlin showed the way for the final restart and maintained a slim lead over Martin Truex Jr. and Keselowski during the final four-lap shootout to the checkers, picking up his 28th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Hamlin and his FedEx team stayed with their fuel strategy throughout the entire race and thanks to two red flags and eight cautions, totaling 20 laps, were able to complete the race after making just two pit stops. The victory moved Hamlin up two spots to seventh in the NASCAR standings after 22 of 26 regular season races.
Bristol Preview: The Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the famed night race at the high-banked, half-mile Tennessee track. Hamlin is the 2012 winner of the prestigious event, pulling off a slide-job pass of now-teammate Carl Edwards for the victory. Hamlin has nine top-10 finishes in 21 career races at Bristol, and three career pole positions, including this event one year ago. Hamlin started first and led 54 laps en route to a third-place finish. He also started on the pole in the 2013 Bristol night race.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Races: 21
Wins: 1
Top-5: 5
Top-10: 9
Average Start: 15.1
Average Finish: 16.8
Laps Led: 578
Hamlin Conversation — BRISTOL:
What confidence does the Watkins Glen win give your team heading into the final races of the regular season?
“Obviously, any time you can win, it’s a boost for the entire team. I think after Sonoma, we wanted to win on a road course really bad. We were able to get that done at Watkins Glen, and now we have turned our focus to the rest of the regular season, trying to build momentum for the Chase. We have some really good tracks coming up for our FedEx team, and the goal is to get another win to help our seeding in the Chase.”
Seattle Along for the Ride at Bristol: The FedEx Express ramp in Seattle will be recognized for its outstanding support of the FedEx Cares global giving initiative with its “SEAA” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Crew Chief – Mike “Wheels” Wheeler
Car Chief – Leo Thorsen
Engineers – Matt Beckman, Sam McAuley
Shock Specialist – Drew Bible
Tire Specialist – Kerry Ferris
Mechanics – Troy Welty, John Furino, Sean Kerlin
Spotter – Chris Lambert
Front Tire Changer: Dustin Necaise
Front Tire Carrier: Brandon Pegram
Rear Tire Changer: Mike Hicks
Rear Tire Carrier: Heath Cherry
Jack Man: Nate Bolling
Gas Man: Caleb Hurd
Transportation – Frank Hodel