Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Ground Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: South Point 400
Date/Time: Sunday, Sept. 16/3 pm ET
Distance: 267 laps/400.5 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Track Shape: Tri-Oval
Banking: 20 degrees
Express Notes:
Indianapolis Recap: Denny Hamlin finished third in Monday’s regular season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading a race-high 37 laps in the 160-lap race before a series of late-race cautions foiled the FedEx Racing team’s quest for their first Brickyard 400 win in the #11 FedEx Possibilities Toyota. Hamlin took the lead on lap 143 following a cycle of green-flag pit stops in the race’s final 60-lap Stage. He proved to be a dominant contender as the laps ticked to the finish, however two cautions in the race’s final 16 laps gave Hamlin’s competitors with fresher tires a chance to close the gap. On the penultimate lap, Hamlin was forced to give way to eventual race winner Brad Keselowski which also allowed his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones to slip by, and the #11 machine went on to finish third. He started 10th and quickly worked his way into the top-five to finish Stage 1 in third, then went on to capitalize on short-pit strategy in the second segment to position himself up front for the final Stage.
Las Vegas Preview: The Series heads West to Las Vegas for the first of 10 races in this year’s NASCAR playoffs. Hamlin looks to start the Playoffs on a high note, not only improving from his 17th place finish at Vegas in March, and aiming for a repeat of his first round victory at Chicago in 2015. Of his 13 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Denny has finished in the top-five twice and has six top-10 finishes.
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.
Hamlin led 37 laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Raceway on Sunday, generating a $4,107 donation to Safe Kids on behalf of FedEx. After 26 regular season races, Hamlin has led 307 laps resulting in a $34,077 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.
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.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Races: 13
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top-5: 2
Top-10: 6
Laps Led: 14
Avg. Start: 19.2
Avg. Finish: 12.6
Hamlin Conversation
What’s your overall feeling heading into the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs? Do you think your team will be able to make a run at the Championship?
“Our team has been competitive all season, so there’s not a doubt in my mind that we can make a run at the championship. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think we had a chance to win. It’s so important to rack up as many points as possible in these first few races to put us in a good position, and I have every confidence that we will do just that.”
Salt Lake City Hub Along for the Ride at Las Vegas: The FedEx Ground Hub in Salt Lake City will be recognized for major safety accomplishments with its “SALT” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
