Catchfence

NSCS Denny Hamlin - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

Event: CarFax 400

Date/Time: Aug. 15/1:30 p.m. EST
2009 winner: Brian Vickers
2009 polesitter: Brian Vickers
Distance: 200 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 2.0 miles
Banking: 18 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Watkins Glen in Review: Denny Hamlin piloted the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota to a frustrating and uncharacteristic 37th place finish last week on the road course at Watkins Glen. Hamlin had not previously finished outside of the top-ten at The Glen and appeared to be on his way to another good finish before he was unable to avoid the spinning #48 Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson with 20 laps remaining. The contact resulted in heavy damage to the front end of the #11 Toyota and it was determined to be too great to fix. Hamlin climbed from the car to record his first DNF of the season and the result drops him from third to sixth in the Sprint Cup standings heading to Michigan this weekend.

Hamlin at Michigan: This weekend will mark Hamlin’s tenth start at Michigan and his 174^th career start at the Cup level. Denny Hamlin dominated the Heluva Good! 400 at Michigan International Speedway earlier this season to win his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the 2010 season. Hamlin led on four occasions for a race-high 123 laps, coupling a dominating car with a sterling drive to take the win. In August of 2009, Hamlin led on one occasion for two laps on his way to his 11^th top-ten finish on the season and second consecutive top-ten at Michigan. In June of 2009, Hamlin posted his best effort to date by bringing home the #11 car in third place. In August of 2008, a blown engine with six laps remaining made for an agonizing day for Hamlin and the #11 team.  After starting from 37^th place on the grid, Hamlin and the team worked through handling issues all afternoon but raced into the top-ten before his engine expired on lap 194.  In June of 2008, a pit stop on lap 155 looked to have Hamlin well-positioned for a top-five finish but a late caution sent the race into extra laps and the #11 team was forced to pit for fuel and settle for a 14th-place finish.  In June of 2007 the #11 FedEx team had a car capable of running in the top-five and challenging for the win at MIS but costly pit road mishaps on laps 37 and 114 left Hamlin off the lead lap and having to scrape for a frustrating 14th-place finish.  In the fall of 2007, Hamlin started and finished in the top-ten and left the #11 team satisfied with their ever-improving performances on the 2.0-mile track.  In the rain shortened 3M Performance 400 in June 2006, Hamlin had worked his way up from the 21^st spot on the grid to 12^th before the race was called due to rain.

FedEx Express Detroit Market “DTW” Along for the Ride at Michigan: The #11 FedEx Express Toyota will carry the letters DTW on the b-post this weekend at Michigan in recognition of outstanding work by the AGFS and USGO teams in the Detroit Metro market.

Michigan Chassis – JGR 253 and 267: The FedEx team will unload Chassis JGR 253 this weekend in Michigan. This car scored a tenth-place finish at Michigan in August of 2009. JGR 267 will serve in backup duty.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Michigan International Speedway:

Michigan was a track that you used to fear but a place where this team has made huge gains, can you speak to that?: “Absolutely, this is a track where we never ran very well early in my career, we struggled and had some bad luck.  It was also a combination of my comfort level and just not being able to get the car where we needed it. I think it was June of last season that we came here with a new car and a new set up and it clicked. We were fast off the truck and finished third and it was a turning point for us in a lot of ways. We came back in August and ran in the top ten and then really hit on it when we came back this year and dominated a race probably as much as I ever have. It was a great day for us so that definitely gives us confidence coming back to a track.”

Is making a big gain like that a factor of keying on a specific type of track and putting time and resources into it?: “For sure this #11 team and everyone at JGR made an effort to improve our intermediate program and we’ve seen the results this season. A lot of time and effort went into that process and the credit goes to everyone at JGR. You do all that work but you are doing it in addition to keeping up the other parts of the program too, this sport is too competitive to rest anywhere.  Now we feel like we are no longer just a short track team, we feel like we can run at the front everywhere. With that comes a lot of confidence in the driver’s seat also.”

A tough weekend at The Glen leads you into a stretch of good tracks leading up to the Chase – what are your expectations?: It was a really tough way to end last weekend. We had a good car. We weren’t going to get to the front and challenge for the lead but we were going have a decent finish so it’s frustrating to end up out of the race like that. I didn’t see the reason to race like that there and when the #48 went around there was no place to go. We have some good chances to win races left and that is what you want to do heading into the Chase. We have good cars and some new stuff coming soon so we feel we can go to the remaining tracks and be really competitive.”

2010 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

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

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

Mechanic:  Rick Bray – Placerville, Calif.

Hauler Driver: Jerry Hess – Lancaster, Pa.

Mechanic: John Furino – Long Island, NY

Hauler Driver: Frank Hodel – Blythe, Calif.

Spotter: Curtis Markham – Fredericksburg, Va.

Front Tire Changer: Jonathan Sherman – Monroe, La.      

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

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

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..

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

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release