Denny Hamlin
11 FedEx Ground Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Saturday Race Info:
Race: Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 11/7:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 400 laps/300 miles
Track Length: .75 mile
Track Shape: Oval
Express Notes:
Darlington Recap: Denny Hamlin kicked off the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with a win Sunday night at Darlington Raceway – his first of the season. Hamlin battled Kyle Larson for much of the event on the historic oval, but the driver of the #11 held off a late-charging Larson on the final lap of the race to bring home his third Southern 500 trophy. The win punched Hamlin’s ticket to the Round of 12 of the Playoffs, with two more races remaining in the opening Round of 16.
Richmond Preview: Race #2 of the Round of 16 takes Hamlin to his hometown track of Richmond Raceway, a three-quarter-mile oval where the Chesterfield, Va., native owns three wins in 29 Cup starts. The FedEx Ground Toyota team performed well at the track in April, starting and finishing the race in second. Saturday night’s race falls on a somber anniversary – the 20-year mark since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In commemoration, the 300-mile race has been specially named the Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Richmond Raceway
Races: 29
Wins: 3
Poles: 3
Top-5: 14
Top-10: 18
Laps Led: 1,911
Avg. Start: 9.7
Avg. Finish: 9.0
Hamlin Conversation – Richmond:
Does having one win already in the Round of 16 change the way you approach the rest of the round?
“We want to win these next two races, too. We’re not going to take these next two weeks off. We want to keep this momentum going. That way, when we get to the treacherous second round, we’re ready and we’re in Playoff form.”
Do you remember where you were on the day of the 9/11 attacks?
“I was putting the exhaust on my new late-model car that my parents spent every dollar they had on, and tragedy struck, and we all were glued to the TV for the next eight hours. It was certainly a defining moment in our country. We don’t take lightly everything that happened, and we have such an appreciation for all the first responders who went to the scene and especially for those who never went home again.”
FedEx Ground Along For The Ride: The SCAL district’s focus on “Safety Above All” lands them a placement on the B-post of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota race car during the Sept. 11 Richmond Raceway race.
FedEx Office – Closest to Richmond Raceway: 1111 E Main St, Richmond, VA (804) 783-9880
