Catchfence

Denny Hamlin

Event: Coke Zero 400
Date/Time: July 4, 2009/8 p.m.
2008 winner: Kyle Busch
2008 pole winner: Paul Menard
Distance: 160 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 2.5 miles
Banking: 31 degrees
Track Shape: Tri-Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Hamlin, FedEx Racing 15th at New Hampshire: Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team couldn’t replicate the performance that has made them a recent favorite at New Hampshire, fighting handling issues all-race long before rain ended last Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 after 273 laps with the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota running 15th. Despite being a frustrating day for Hamlin, who started seventh and led one lap, the result sees the team leave New Hampshire Motor Speedway and head to Daytona for the Coke Zero 400 having gained one spot in the Sprint Cup Series points. Hamlin now holds the sixth spot in the standings with a five point lead over Ryan Newman in seventh and sits 392 points behind leader Tony Stewart.

Hamlin at Daytona International Speedway: This weekend will mark Hamlin’s eighth Cup start at Daytona International and his 133rd career Cup start. Last summer, Hamlin led six laps and showed the speed and handling necessary to contend for the win before late-race incidents on lap 136 and lap 158 relegated the FedEx team to a 26th-place finish. Scant consolation considering the quality of the #11 FedEx Toyota. Hamlin followed up last summer’s 26th place finish with another 26th-place finish this spring in the 2009 Daytona 500. The team posted a best-ever finish in the 500 in 2008, when Hamlin led 32 laps and had one of the more dominant cars in the field. Unfortunately, contact suffered on pit road during a lap 120 stop required repair and adversely affected the handle on the #11 FedEx Camry. Despite making his way back into the pack for the finish, his position in the draft left him vulnerable to the string of incidents before the end and he settled for a 17th place finish. In July of 2007, Hamlin led ten laps early in the race before he found then teammate Tony Stewart in his rearview mirror on lap 15. The two made contact with each other resulting in substantial damage to both cars. After a significant amount of time was spent in the garage repairing the car, the #11 team was able to get Hamlin back on the track 60 laps down to the leaders and finished the race running 43rd. The #11 team posted a best-ever July race performance in the summer of 2006, when Hamlin raced to a 17th-place finish. On a night when the team ran through myriad changes to help the handle on the #11 car, Hamlin was able to avoid the incidents that would plague him in coming years.

Daytona Chassis – JGR 244 & 200: The #11 team will unload chassis #244 this weekend at Daytona for a first-ever start. Chassis #200 finished 26th in this race last summer and has served as a backup for all of the restrictor plate races to date this season.

FedEx Office Store #0579 “Along for the Ride” at Daytona: In recognition of their outstanding commitment to customer service, FedEx Office store #0579 will be featured on the wing caps of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. Store #0579, located in Norwood, Mass., led all stores in customer service metrics for fiscal year 2009. Congratulations!

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Daytona:

How does the summer visit to Daytona differ from the 500?: “Definitely a much different feel going back to the summer race at Daytona after being there for a couple of weeks in the Spring. The biggest difference between the two is running under the lights and it being a shorter race but the 500 is such a big race on its own and there is a ton of build up, and obviously a lot of on-track events in addition to the point race with the Bud Shootout and the duel races. Throw in a lot of our off-track obligations during that week as we prepare for a new season and it seems less and less like a normal race for us. So, to go back to that same track on what is really a regular weekend schedule for us is pretty cool and gives you a different perspective. Of course it’s still racing at Daytona and when you get in the car – all of that stuff gets put out of your mind. The 500 was shortened on account of rain and we left some laps on the board last weekend at Loudon so I hope the rain stays away for the fans this weekend.”

The JGR superspeedway package has really come on strong over the past two years – can you speak to that improvement?: “We had a race-winning car at Talladega in April and we’ve really gone from being competitive to there being times when the three JGR cars were out in front together on these plate tracks. Kyle won this race last season and we’ve seen that the JGR package is capable of winning on any of the big tracks so we’re always optimistic about what we have now. The guys at the shop, on the three teams and everyone at Toyota have really pushed the progress of our superspeedway package and it’s showing each time we get to Talladega or Daytona. It’s been a big help for me that as I’ve grown more comfortable on these tracks and in the draft, that the JGR cars are always getting better and better at the same time.”

FEDEX RACING – 2009 SEASON RESULTS:

Race Track Date Start Finish Laps (Led)_

Daytona 500 Daytona Feb. 15 10 26 152/152

Auto Club 500 Auto Club Feb. 22 23 6 250/250

Shelby 427 Las Vegas March 1 34 22 284/285

Kobalt Tools 500 Atlanta March 8 6 13 329/330

Food City 500 Bristol March 22 24 2 503/503 7

Goody’s 500 Martinsville March 29 8 2 500/500 296

Samsung 500 Texas April 5 22 12 334/334

Subway Fresh Fit 500 Phoenix April 18 12 6 312/312

Aaron’s 499 Talladega April 26 18 22 188/188 28

Crown Royal 400 Richmond May 2 3 14 400/400 148

Southern 500 Darlington May 9 23 13 367/367

Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte May 24 13 11 227/227

Autism Speaks 400 Dover May 31 13 35 232/400

Pocono 500 Pocono June 7 7 38 178/200

LifeLock 400 Michigan June 14 13 3 200/200 1

Toyota/SaveMart 350 Sonoma June 21 24 5 113/113 33

Lenox Tools 301 New Hampshire June 28 7 15 283/283 1____

Averages/Totals 15.5 14.5 96.2% 514

2009 FEDEX RACING – TEAM ROSTER

Crew Chief: Mike Ford – Morristown, Tenn.

Car Chief: Chris “Spider” Gillin – Smithtown, NY

Shocks: Tim Sparkman – St. Louis, Mo.

Engineer: Mike Wheeler – Southholt, NY

Front Tire Changer: Jonathan Sherman – Monroe, La.

Tire Specialist: Patrick Mullen – Brick, N.J.

Windshield: Bobby “Spike” Christenson – Spokane, Wash.

Mechanic: Rick Bray – Placerville, Calif.**

Rear Tire Changer: Mike Hicks – Salisbury, N.C.

Rear Tire Carrier: Heath Cherry – Belmont, N.C.

Spotter: Curtis Markham – Fredericksburg, Va.

Front Tire Carrier: Brandon Pegram – Statesville, N.C.

Jackman: Nate Bolling – Swanton, Ohio**

Motor Specialist: Chris Woodward – Franklin, NH

Gas can: Scott Wood – Liberty, S.C.

Catch Can: John Eicher – London, Ky.

Hauler Driver: Jerry Hess – Lancaster, Pa.

Mechanic: John Furino – Long Island, NY

Hauler Driver: Frank Hodel – Blythe, Calif.

JGR Athletic Director: Michael Lepp – Charlotte, N.C.

- Weber Shandwick for FedEx Racing, Press Release