Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

DOVER, Del. (May 12, 2021) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media via videoconference prior to the Dover race earlier today:

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What areas at CoTA (Circuit of the Americas) do you feel will be best for passing and what areas do you feel will be the most difficult?

“I feel like there’s a handful of really good passing zones. Obviously, as usual, after the long straightaways and the front straightaway and back straightaway are both really long going into really hard braking zones that are low speed, first gear. Those are definitely good areas. There’s a little short chute on the back, about halfway around the track that should be pretty good. Then I think coming out of the last corner onto the front straightaway is a good one as well. I think there’s going to be plenty of opportunities there with it. Especially the fact that it’s got older pavement and it’s going to have pretty decent tire wear. That’s going to open up a lot of opportunities as well and should be fun.”

Is there anything at CoTA that feels very different from things you’ve done previously?

“I think in general the track has a little bit of that just because it’s so unique with high speed and low speed. It’s like Sonoma and Watkins Glen all pushed together. It’s a little different in that aspect. I think as far as road courses go, it’s a road course. I don’t think there’s anything that guys are going to be completely freaked out about or lost about.”

Would you ever enjoy the chance to practice and get behind the wheel of a F1 car?

“Possibly. Depending on the track. I think that’s a completely different world than driving a stock car. Be careful what you wish for I guess. It would be neat to just feel what it was like and maybe experience that in an open kind of deal like they did before with car swaps. I don’t know about going to try it in a real race. I’d be somewhere I probably didn’t belong. It would be cool to experience those cars and what they felt like and how much different it really is.”

Is it realistic to be able to reel in Denny Hamlin at 75 points out for the regular season championship and more bonus points?

“It’s doable for sure. It’s obviously going to take a little bit of rough luck on their part. We’ve had a couple bad races and that’s really the difference. Wrecked at Daytona, wrecked at Talladega and a flat tire on the last green-white-checkered at Bristol really hurt us. We’ve had a couple really bad finishes and that’s really the difference and they’re going to need to have a few of those I think for us to catch them. We’ll see how it plays out. Obviously, feeling great about where we are as a team and what we’re doing. If we can keep winning races, we’ll do what we need to do points-wise.”

Are points on your mind at all or do you just go to win races?

“I think when you talk about points, we’re thinking championship bonus, Playoff points. Winning races, winning stages that’s what we need to do and that’s what we did this past weekend. It would be great to win the regular season because that’s a chunk of those points as well. We’ll see how it goes. We’re in a good place and focused on what we’re doing. The team is doing a great job. Need to keep pushing and keep gathering those bonus points.”

How did it feel to have fans and people back at Darlington this past weekend?

“That’s been great to be getting back to where we should be and having fans there. Our sport runs off of that. We feed off of that as drivers. You feel that energy. I think we all talked last year when we came back and there was no one there, no practice, it just felt like we were at a test. It doesn’t feel like a real race. Definitely feels more normal to have everybody there and enjoying a great show. Definitely a lot more fun to celebrate after winning when they’re there, that’s for sure.”

How much confidence is there at Joe Gibbs Racing knowing you and Denny Hamlin are first and second in the points?

“It’s good. I think everybody is pleased with where we’re at. This sport changes quickly and it’s very difficult. We just need to keep pushing and working hard in the direction we’re going. I think the great part about it is we have a game plan. After last year weren’t happy with where we were and everybody went to work. Worked in a lot of key areas and did a lot of good things. Feeling good about it. I think all of our cars are running well consistently and that’s a good thing. We’ve all had chances to win or have won. It’s been good. Just keep pushing and try to win more and hopefully we stay on top of it.”

What is it about Dover that makes you so good?

“Just ever since I went there the first time, it’s a place I really enjoyed going to. It’s a unique track where you can use a lot of past history and I think for me when I go there, I don’t really worry a whole lot about how fast we are or exactly what the setup is or things like that. I really just kind of go by feel of the car and know what I’m looking for. That’s really a key for a lot of places is once you figure it out, if you can duplicate that feel or those certain little tendencies your car has to do well, you can carry that through the years and we’ve been able to do that there. Hopefully we’ll get it feeling the way I like this weekend and get up there and try to win another one.”

What is your relationship like with James Small and do you feel fully acclimated after a year-and-a-half together?

“It feels good. James (Small, crew chief) and I are on the same page and I think at the same time, a lot of this is just him doing a great job and making the right decisions, which is a tall order with no practice. There’s so many things that go into building a car and getting it prepared for a race and then putting a certain setup in there. You lean on past history, you lean on simulation and just really trying to nail it is so difficult. There’s so many assumptions and so many things that you have to guess on. I think he’s doing a really good job. He’s got a great understanding of what I need. Doing a great job of trusting his instincts and not being afraid to get aggressive on certain things in certain areas. He’s doing a great job and it’s been fun to have success. Last year he was stressed out a bit about only winning one race and trying to figure out how to deal with this no practice deal or situation. He’s doing a good job and hopefully we can keep it going.”

How tough was the race at Darlington for you?

“I think it was a very difficult race. I came on during the first long run of the race over the radio and said, I can’t believe how slick it is and just how slow it felt. You had to have a lot of discipline and our car was pretty good all day obviously. But it was still difficult to drive. It was a handful. Traffic was a real big problem. For me to make speed, I had to be right on the edge in three and four. Right on the fence and actually in the last 10 laps of the race, I think I scraped the right-rear six times and if you hit that just a little bit too hard, it will pull the right-front in the fence and then you can have a tire rub and the race could be gone. It was very difficult. It wasn’t easy at all by any means. Never is there at Darlington. It was a handful.”

Does this team feel like the early championship favorite?

“I don’t know. I don’t think we really look at things that way. That’s more of the media approach of picking favorites and naming people and all this and that. I don’t know that we get too wrapped up in all that stuff. We focus on what we’re doing, where we’re at and where we feel like we need to be better all the time. I think we feel good, we feel good about three wins. In three or four weeks, somebody else could have three or four wins as well. This sport changes quickly. A lot going on and just focused on trying to keep it going. Really focused right now on Dover and trying to go there and do the best job we can. Been talking about CoTA and setups for there and what we’re looking at. Just looking ahead to how we can keep running well, winning races hopefully and we’ll let the others talk about who the favorites are and what they think we can accomplish. We know what we’re capable of, we just need to make sure we keep that up.”

How do you and your crew prepare mentally with no practice and no qualifying at Dover?

“There’s a lot of preparation around just the track setup and the car with where it’s at this year with the rules and trying to again use past history, use things we’ve done there before and then you make tweaks based on different things like the weather conditions. If they change the tire, which I don’t think they did this time around and all those factors and just try to come up with the best package you can. I think for me as a driver, mentally I just go back and in my brain and in my memory bank and think about the things we’ve been good at there in the past and the things we maybe need to work on to be better and try to visualize and do those things. There’s not a whole lot you can do as a driver to prepare for these races. Lean on your experience and your past history of what you felt there before and try to give the crew chief some insight on exactly what you need and explain it as well as possible. Then show up and let it all go. Looking forward to it, should be fun and always enjoy going up there.”

About Toyota

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Toyota has created a tremendous value chain and directly employs more than 47,000 in North America. The company has contributed world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama that begins production in 2021.

Through its Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
DRYDENE 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 12, 2021

COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 DRYDENE PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Highlights:

HOW DO YOU FEEL THE SEASON HAS PLAYED OUT AND ARE YOU AT PAR OR, A PLUS OR MINUS?
“I think, on paper, we are probably a minus. But I think internally, we are better off. We had mechanical failures early. We had an engine break and a couple of things happen. We had a really good run at Martinsville. We should have probably had a Top 10 result there, but we got caught up on pit road. We’ve had four DNF’s, so if we clean those up, then we’re 24th or 25th in points, which I feel like really over-achieving for what we set out to do. But we’re sitting there in 30th or whatever it is in points, and still pretty bullish on what we’re capable of doing. It was a little bit more of a transition than I expected from the Ford Mustangs we ran last year and transferring the set-ups over to these Ganassi Camaros, the aero balance was a little bit different. They had a little bit more front downforce, so we had to adjust, and we probably threw away three or four weeks on intermediate tracks to get that balance figured out. But I think we’ve got a pretty good handle on what these cars need to make some speed and I was pretty happy with how we ran at Darlington. We were probably a 20th to 23rd place car, around 22nd, and I think for us, that’s checking the boxes and incrementally getting better and figuring out the things we need to do to get better throughout the year.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE SERVING IN A BIT OF A MENTOR ROLE TO JUSTIN HALEY AND WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP YOU’VE DEVELOPED AT SPIRE MOTORSPORTS?
“I’ve actually grown to kind of like it. It’s this weird phase in your career when you realize you’re not the young guy anymore. You were always the young guy looking up to Jimmie Johnson or all these guys you grew up idolizing. Now, you look in the mirror and you are 29 or 30 years old with a couple of years of Cup experience under your belt. Now you’ve got a 22-year-old kid behind you and you are offering advice and you’re almost mirroring stuff that people have told you along the way. I’ve enjoyed that. We don’t get a whole lot of time. His focus is primarily on a Xfinity car and trying to go for a championship there with Kaulig Racing, but it’s fun to interact and just get to see his perspective on things because his path to how he got where he is, is a little bit different than mine. So, to see and compare different racing experiences together. He can give me some pointers sometimes, too, from the Xfinity race the day before (like) what the tires do and how much grip the track gives up, or whatever the case might be. So, I lean on him probably just as much as he leans on me for advice because he’s getting more seat time every weekend than I am on the race track.”

FIVE OF THE NEXT 11 POINTS RACES ARE ON ROAD COURSES. WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS AT SPIRE DONE TO PREPARE, ESPECIALLY THAT WE DIDN’T RACE AT WATKINS GLEN OR SONOMA LAST YEAR?
“I do not like the fact that you reminded me there are five on road courses out of the next 11. I haven’t had a lot of experience on road courses growing up, for whatever reason. My first ever road course experience was in a Cup car at Watkins Glen. But I ran a car down at COTA earlier this year, in December, just to see the place and figure out the braking points and stuff like that. I feel like I’ll be able to pick-up fairly quick when we go to Austin, but I’ve never been to Road America. I’ve only got one of two races at Sonoma. That’s certainly my weak point. But I’ve been working hard on it. It’s totally different than what I grew up doing. I’ve got to put a little more weight into it since NASCAR is obviously going the way of a couple more road courses on the schedule and talking about street courses in the future. So, there’s no excuse to not work hard at it and I know my guys here at Spire Motorsports are going to do their best to give me a good car. I don’t want to be the weak link in the seat.”

WAS THERE ANYTHING ABOUT THE COTA TRACK THAT YOU FEEL IS UNIQUELY DIFFERENT FROM THE ROAD COURSES YOU’VE RUN AT PREVIOUSLY?
“There’s not a whole lot of elevation change besides that big uphill climb into Turn 1. I ran a BMW down there, which was a WRL race and there were about eight different classes. The speed discrepancy was big. So, I was right there in the middle. My point being if I’d gone off Turn 1 and there was a GT car behind me and he didn’t get around me through that right-hand sweeper, up until the esses, he was stuck behind me because the course is so slow and those esses tighten-up so much. I think if you are somebody who might not be as fast as somebody in front of you, if you can just maintain your position on a restart through (Turns) 1 and 2 and get to the esses, you can maintain that position all the way down into (Turn) 11 and into the hairpin and it’ll single out and you can probably maintain for a long time. There are only three passing zones, I think. Beyond that, there’s going to be a lot of sliding around because that track is pretty racy.”

HOW MANY CARS CAN YOU FIT IN SOME OF THOSE WIDER AREA TURNS?
“It’s a wide track but on the flipside, it’s only one fast groove, so you might be able to fit four cars, but the preferred lane is going to go. I’m not sure how it’s going to play out. I like the fact that it’s not quite as fast as Watkins Glen, so you’re not depending on aero so much up through the esses because Watkins Glen is an intermediate road course at this point in time with how much grip it’s got and how much downforce your car makes. So, I don’t think it’s going to be quite to that level. It’s going to be a little bit faster than Sonoma and kind of a good mix of both. I think it should be a good race. I’m just excited to go to a new market down there in Austin and see how the fans support it.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE IF YOU STAY ON THE RACE TRACKS AND MINIMIZE MISTAKES THAT A SMALLER TEAM LIKE YOURSELF THAT YOU CAN GET SOME ABOVE AVERAGE FINISHES IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS?
“I would like to think so. You can point to Jeremy Clements winning that Road America race a couple of years ago. Xfinity racing is so much different than Cup racing. There might be 10 guys who know what they’re doing on a Saturday afternoon. There are 32 or 35 guys on a Sunday who know what they’re doing. The odds of 15 guys missing the boat or having the wrong strategy is very slim. That’s why those guys are making a lot of money, whether it be on the pit road side, or behind the wheel. It’s just as hard to sneak a finish at a speedway race as a road course or short track race just because everybody is a professional. That’s why it’s the big time. It’s not the minor leagues. And I don’t think you’re going to see a deep-in-the-field guy sneak one out at a road course unless there’s just some absolutely crazy pit strategy and he can go long or whatever the case may be, but I just don’t think you’re going to see it because the simulation models are too good. They’ve got engineers at the track as well as a whole compound at the shop running the infinite possibilities of strategy outcomes. When you’re up against that sort of stuff, it’s hard to sneak a good finish in any given week, let alone a road course.”

HOW MUCH DOES RUNNING SHIFTER CARS ACTUALLY HELP?
“It doesn’t hurt. The only thing that hurts are your ribs if you hit a curb. Those things are just a person mover. I think the sensation of speed, braking technique are somewhat similar, but you have to have a lot of finesse wrestling a 3600-pound car around the track instead of just getting after it in a shifter car. I’ve learned a lot of things. I’ve picked up a lot of speed just forcing myself to learn different ways and different apexes into the corner just at a go-kart track. So, I think it’s not so much applying go karts to Cup cars as much as it is making your brain be flexible to constantly get better and make adjustments to trying to find speed. And I think that that side of it is what correlates the most.”

HOW ARE SOME OF THE COST CUTTING MEASURES FOR THE NEXT GEN CAR GOING TO HELP THE SMALLER TEAMS?
“I think short term, it’s probably going to be a wash or a push to what we have now because now we can lean on Ganassi and Hendrick to get some of their hand-me-down stuff instead of cutting a seven-figure check to get all new parts in the door. I think the long-term gain of the trickle down, affect behind a team like Hendrick or Ganassi or Penske or Gibbs or all those big guys not spending the money at R&D to develop new parts. The infinite amounts of things they can work on and find just morsels of speed is what’s going to trickle down and save everybody money. But at the end of the day, big teams are always going to spend a little bit more and have more people and spend more time in the wind tunnel and stuff like that. So hopefully we can pick-up where we’d like to. I don’t think it’s going to be even by any means like some people might think. But you’re not going to worried about getting beaten because you have a different left-front upper control arm, or your suspension is a little bit different than the next guy’s. You’ve got to stack the pennies.

“I think for the first half of the year the bigger teams are going to further separated from the smaller teams than they are right now just because we have notes we can lean on. I’m probably a little bit nervous because we’re doing all we can at Spire Motorsports to get our cars currently on the race track with all the notes and all the decades’ worth of set-ups we have. And then we throw a whole new mix into it where there’s all the other bigger teams, obviously the ones who are competing for championships, have a working group internally already figuring that Next Gen car out and figuring areas they can work on with the bodies and suspension like that to obviously get themselves a competitive advantage. So, if we’re running as lean as we are now just to get to the race track, we have no time to look into the future and work on that Next Gen car until after the year is over. So, that’s what I’m a little bit worried about just to hit the ground running. But I’m also confident on the other side of the coin, in Ryan Sparks’ abilities as an engineer and racer to figure that car out quick. And everybody underneath at Spire Motorsports will figure it out. We’re just going to have to get lean and mean and get after it and not make excuses.”

LOOKING AT DOVER THIS WEEKEND WITH STEEP BANKING ALL AROUND, HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE MILES THE MONSTER AT DOVER PRETTY MUCH IN REAL LIFE IN TERMS OF THAT STEEP BANKING?
“it’s probably one of the most unique places we go to because the rubber lays down really heavy and the track gets really wide, depending on what tire and downforce package we have. Obviously, we have the low downforce package. So, we’re going to get up the race track quite a bit searching for grip and trying to get a better run down the hill and put power down on the straightaways. I’ve had success there in a K&N car there in year’s past and have run well there in a Xfinity car, so I always have confidence going to the Monster Mile. But that’s a place, man, where it’s really car dependent. Your car has to get over the bumps. Your shocks have to be dialed in and you have to have a lot of downforce and a lot of motor. So, it’s one of the more-heavier-dependent car tracks that we go to on the circuit. And if you’re off a little bit, compared to those leaders, you’re in the way. This is the most excited I’ve been in my career going to Dover in a Cup car just because I know what we continue to build to. Our cars have more downforce, and we have good engines this year as well. So, judging by our performance last week at Darlington, where like I said, a 22nd place car, and if we can run there, then we can run 20th and when we start running there we can run on the back-end of the Top 15 and that’s kind of the trajectory that we’re trying to put ourselves on.”

WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT THIS SEASON AS WE APPROACH THE HALF-WAY POINT?
“How many winners there have been; I think we talk about that every week in my podcasts. Granted, we’ve got Martin Truex Jr. winning three, but beyond that, everybody has only won one. And the fact we haven’t seen Kevin Harvick or Denny Hamlin find Victory Lane is a little bit surprising for me. I think competitively, this is probably one of the most competitive seasons in NASCAR of all time. So, I’m excited to see how that boils down by the end of the regular season because having Daytona, there are a couple of different factors into that. All the teams have a couple extra speedway cars left and there are only two more speedway races left and one can punch your ticket into the Playoff, potentially. I think everybody is going to be tightening the belts up and putting it in there and trying to contend for a win at Daytona and then that fall race at Talladega will be just tighten the belts and throw caution to the wind and bring home the steering wheel. So, there is a lot of stuff to look forward to if you’re a race fan as we continue to see the numbers on TV grow or stay consistent. Those are really optimistic numbers. I do think there’s still room to grow. There’s a lot of things to be excited about as both a competitor in the sport as well as a fan, right now.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found www.chevrolet.com.

After a couple of mediocre finishes at Dover International Speedway in 2020, Matt DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are looking at this weekend’s Drydene 400 at Dover not as a race to dread but one that presents an opportunity to improve as a team.

“Dover is a track we couldn’t get a grip on last year as far as the speed we needed,” said DiBenedetto, who is set to start Sunday’s race from 18th place. “We’re planning to learn from last year, try something different this time and redeem ourselves.”

He said this weekend’s race on the one-mile concrete oval offers him and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team a chance to build on its strengths.

“We know we’re good at the mile-and-a-half tracks like Las Vegas and Texas, and we’re strong on the superspeedways,” he said. “This is an opportunity to become more well-rounded.”

DiBenedetto said he’s confident that even without practice, crew chief Greg Erwin and the engineers on the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang will come up with a good set-up for the 400-lap race.

He said that even though he and the No. 21 team excel on the concrete oval at Bristol, there a few similarities between the two tracks beyond the type of surface.

“Dover is slick, with less grip,” he said. “We’ll bank what we learned last year and build on it.”

DiBenedetto enters the weekend 17th in the Cup Series standings but is tied in points with 16th place Tyler Reddick, who holds the tie-breaker of best race finish this season.

Sunday’s Drydene 400 is set to get the green flag just after 2 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on FOX Sports 1. Stage breaks will be at Laps 120 and 240.

About Motorcraft:

Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

About Omnicraft:

Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visit www.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.

About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center

Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 200,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Wood Brothers Racing

Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.

Denny Hamlin
11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:

Race: Drydene 400
Date/Time: Sunday, May 16/2:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 400 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 1 mile
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 24 degrees
2020 Winner: Denny Hamlin

Express Notes:

Press Kit: Download the 2021 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.

Darlington Recap: Denny Hamlin scored another top-five finish Sunday at Darlington Raceway. The #11 team brought a fast Toyota Camry to the historic, egg-shaped oval and even led five laps, but Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. dominated the Mother’s Day race and took the victory. Hamlin finished fifth and maintained a 75-point lead in the driver standings.

Dover Preview: The NASCAR Cup Series moves north, returning to “The Monster Mile” this weekend in Dover. Drivers will make the trip to Delaware for Sunday’s 400-mile event on the concrete oval. Hamlin is a one-time winner at the track and owns six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 30 career races at Dover International Speedway, leading a total of 609 laps. Hamlin will look to earn his first trip to Victory Lane this season.

Hamlin Statistics:

Track: Dover International Speedway
Races: 30
Wins: 1
Poles: 4
Top-5: 6
Top-10: 13
Laps Led: 609
Avg. Start: 10.3
Avg. Finish: 16.6

Hamlin Conversation – Dover:

What are the sensations you feel in a lap at Dover?

“It’s the most physically demanding track for sure – simply because of the speed in the banking, the load that your body takes in the middle of corner. It’s a very, very tough track. It’s very rough, and there are a lot of elevation changes from corner entry to the middle of the corner. It takes its toll on you. It hasn’t always been my favorite or best track during the course of my career, but honestly since being with Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) over these last few years, we’ve had some really good results there.”

How important is to get that first elusive win of the season?

“We’ll get it. We’ve been running up front all season, so eventually the odds will come back to us. If we continue to do what we’ve been doing, we’re going to be in really good shape. We’re still getting smarter and better every single week.”

FedEx Office Along for the Ride at Dover: FedEx Office thanks all team members for rising to meet and overcome challenges on a daily basis.