Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Freight Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: KC Masterpiece 400
Date/Time: Saturday, May 12/ 8 p.m. ET
Distance: 267 Laps/400.5 Miles
Track Length: 1.5 Miles
Track Shape: Tri-oval
Banking: Turns: 17-20°; Straights: 5-11°
2017 Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Express Notes:
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.
Dover Recap: Denny Hamlin finished seventh in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway, capturing his sixth top-10 finish of the 2018 season despite encountering multiple setbacks throughout the 400-lap event. Hamlin climbed his way to fourth in the first stage, but with only three laps remaining in the segment, he ran out of fuel and limped to a 14th-place Stage finish. He was then forced to pit for necessary fuel before pit road was opened, and the move resulted in a penalty that had Hamlin starting Stage 2 from the tail end of the longest line. He capitalized on the long-green flag runs of the second segment to gain track position, and he diligently worked his way to 13th by the Stage 2 conclusion. In the final stage, Hamlin charged his way to 11th, but his progress was interrupted when the field was red-flagged due to weather with 80 laps to go. Following the restart, Hamlin jumped up to eighth following a quick pit stop by the #11 crew, and used the remaining laps to chase down Ryan Blaney for the seventh-place spot.
Kansas Preview: The Series gears up for the second Saturday night race of the season at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway. In 19 starts at the track, Denny has notched five top-five and six top-10 finishes and captured his lone win at the intermediate track in 2012. After starting seventh for this race last season, Denny finished 23rd after being involved in a wreck with only three laps to go.
Hamlin Heads to THE PLAYERS Championship: Alongside 2014 FedExCup champion Billy Horschel and seven-time Olympic medalist Shannon Miller, Denny Hamlin will serve as a celebrity panel judge at the FedEx Junior Business Challenge at THE PLAYERS Championship on Wednesday, May 9. Junior Achievement (JA) of North Florida students will pitch their original business concepts to the panel for the chance to advance to the TOUR Championship where JA students will present to earn a $75,000 donation from FedEx to their local JA chapter.
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 2018 NASCAR championship. New for the 2018 season, the Denny Hamlin Foundation will also match the total donation to Safe Kids Worldwide.
After 11 regular season races, Hamlin has led 226 laps resulting in an $25,086 donation to Safe Kids Worldwide which 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.
