FedEx Racing Express Facts — Martinsville Speedway

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Express Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: STP 500
Date/Time: April 2/2:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 500 Laps/263 Miles
Track Length: .526-mile
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 12 degrees
2016 Winner: Kyle Busch

Express Notes:

Press Kit: Download the 2017 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Mike Wheeler and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights, statistics and 2017 crew roster.

Auto Club Recap: Denny Hamlin secured a 14th-place finish in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway, dropping right outside of the top-10 in the closing laps of the 200-lap event after multiple cautions and a last-minute move to forgo a pit stop with only a few laps remaining. After starting second alongside race winner Kyle Larson, Hamlin spent the majority of Sunday’s race within the top 10, contending for the field’s top positions during the event’s long green-flag runs. A solid pit stop by the #11 team during a caution on lap 179 earned Hamlin four positions on pit road where he would restart second, however two more unsuspecting cautions interrupted the team’s strategy and Hamlin slowly slipped backwards before crossing the finish line in 14th-place. Hamlin picked up three additional championship points for his 10th-place and 9th-place finish in Stage 1 and Stage 2 respectively, moving him up one spot to 12th in the overall NASCAR standings.

Martinsville Preview: The Series returns to the east coast and heads to Martinsville Speedway (Va.) for Sunday’s 500-lap event on the flat, half-mile ‘paperclip’. Hamlin has proved to be a strong competitor at the Virginia home track, notching a career-best five wins, 12 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes at Martinsville in 22 starts, in addition to three poles and 1,363 total laps led. Despite running in the top-10 during the early going of last year’s spring race, Hamlin’s run at the short track was cut short last April when he wrecked at the halfway point to the race, relegating him to a 39th-place finish.

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 2017 NASCAR championship.

Fans can track the total amount donated to date from the Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares program on the homepage of FedExRacing.com. FedEx will donate $444 to Safe Kids on the #11 FedEx Team’s behalf following Hamlin’s four laps led this weekend at Auto Club Speedway.

Hamlin Statistics:

Track: Martinsville Speedway

Races: 22

Wins: 5 (career-best)

Top-5: 12 (career-best)

Top-10: 17 (career-best)

Poles: 3 (tied for career-best)

Average Start: 9.6

Average Finish: 9.2

Laps Led: 1,363

Hamlin Conversation – MARTINSVILLE:

How does it feel to return to the east coast for the race at Martinsville this weekend?

“Obviously it’s a good feeling to head back to my home state where I feel comfortable and in my element on the track. Our FedEx team has been working hard to find the speed we need to contend for a win, and I think Martinsville is a place where we can hopefully make that happen.”

Roanoke, Virginia, FedEx Express Ramp Team Along for the Ride at Martinsville: The Roanoke, Virginia, FedEx Express Ramp team will be recognized for outstanding People-Service-Profit (PSP) by having its “ROAR” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend at their home track Martinsville Speedway.