RACE INFO:
Event: Bank of America 500
Date/Time: Oct. 11/7:30 p.m. ET
2013 winner: Brad Keselowski
2013 polesitter: Jeff Gordon
Distance: 334 laps/501 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Banking: 24 degrees
Track Shape: Quad-Oval
EXPRESS NOTES:
Kansas Recap: Denny Hamlin finished seventh in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, a solid finish for the FedEx team, placing them fifth in points after the first race of the Contender Round of the Chase. A two-tire pit strategy call by crew chief Darian Grubb and quick work by the FedEx crew had the #11 machine third in line for the restart with 33 laps to go, however, in the scramble for turn one on the restart, Hamlin got shuffled back to seventh where he would eventually finish in the 267-lap event won by Joey Logano. After starting 25th and initially battling a loose race car, the FedEx crew made adjustments to the car during the first pit stop that allowed Hamlin to steadily move his way up in the order, cracking the top-10 by lap 75. While battling to stay in the top-10, Denny had a scare as he reported smoke coming from the dash of his #11 FedEx Office Toyota. There wasn’t any issue with performance so Hamlin stayed out as the electrical problem was traced to a faulty cooling fan switch. With the electrical problem out of the way, Hamlin and the team continued to keep the top-10 competitors in their sights, falling as far back to 15th at one point. But the team rallied during each stop and Denny picked off opponents one by one as the laps clicked down.
Charlotte Preview: The Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s 500-mile event at the fast, 1.5-mile layout. Hamlin has enjoyed considerable success at Charlotte, but is still looking for his first win at the track. In 18 career Charlotte starts, Hamlin has amassed 10 top-10 finishes, including back-to-back career-best runner up results in May and October 2012. He started on the pole in the 2013 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, and has led 165 laps in his career at the track. Earlier this year, a pair of loose wheels on green-flag pit stops relegated the team to a 22nd-place finish.
What are the keys for the FedEx Racing Team this weekend in Charlotte?
“It’s important for us to have another mistake-free race with our FedEx Camry, and put ourselves in a good position heading into Talladega. Obviously, finishing seventh at Kansas helped us get off to a good start in the Contender Round, and Charlotte is just as important in terms of trying to distance ourselves from the cutoff line. Charlotte has been a good track for us in the past, and hopefully we’ll have a car that can compete for a win on Saturday.”
