Denny Hamlin in car - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarret/Getty Images for NASCAR

Event: Ford 400
Date/Time: Nov. 20/3 p.m. ET
2010 winner: Carl Edwards
2010 polesitter: Carl Edwards
Distance:267 laps/401 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Banking: 18-20 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Phoenix Recap: Denny Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry to a 12th-place finish in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, the penultimate race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and Round 9 of the Chase for the championship. Hamlin attacked the newly-paved and reconfigured one-mile desert oval from the drop of the green flag, working through traffic from his 33rd starting position to climb near the top-20 by the race’s midpoint. A timely caution just past the halfway mark — in the middle of green flag pit stops — allowed the FedEx team to make a stop during the yellow and move to the brink of the top-10. Hamlin, who sat on the pole in his very-first Phoenix start in 2005, battled a nagging tight condition in the center of the corners which prevented him from challenging for the victory in the 312-lap event won by Kasey Kahne. Crew chief Mike Ford called for a variety of wedge and air pressure adjustments throughout the race in hopes of freeing up the #11 machine, but the track’s changing conditions throughout the afternoon made it a difficult task. The finish kept Hamlin 10th in the Chase standings following Phoenix, as only three points separate leader Carl Edwards and second-place Tony Stewart heading into Sunday’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Homestead Preview: The final race of the 2011 NASCAR season is Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Hamlin will be making his seventh Cup Series start at the 1.5-mile oval. Hamlin has one victory (2009) and a pair of third-place finishes (2006 and 2007) at the track. During his 2009 victory in South Florida, Hamlin charged from his 38th-place starting position to lead a race-high 71 of 267 laps en route to victory lane. In 2006, Hamlin was looking to put an exclamation point on a record-setting rookie season, Hamlin drove an excellent race, bringing the #11 home in third place and locking up third place in the 2006 championship standings. The 2007 race at Homestead followed the same script as the 2006 edition – starting from deep in the pack, Hamlin wasted little time pushing forward and gained 15 spots through the first 18 laps. He would lead 19 laps on the day and ran in the top five for most of the 267 laps before finishing an impressive third. Hamlin owns an average finish of 11.2 in six Homestead starts. Hamlin, who turns 31 on Friday (Nov. 18), will also compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series races this weekend.

Special Helmet: Denny Hamlin will wear a special helmet designed by FedEx team member Neil Cohen, from Cleveland, who won an internal helmet design contest.

FedEx Office – Closest to Homestead-Miami Speedway: 18755 S. Dixie Hwy, Ste 57, Miami, FL 33157, (305) 235-2911

South Bay Along for the Ride in Homestead: The FedEx Express ramp in the south bay of Northern California, covering Sunnyvale to Santa Cruz, will be recognized with its “SJCR” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Homestead-Miami Speedway:

What do you think about Homestead-Miami Speedway?
“This can be a tricky place but it’s a place where we’ve been pretty good over the past two races. Qualifying is always a struggle but we usually turn it around on Saturday and then get ourselves in the right place on Sunday. The banking here gives you an opportunity to search for that place where your car can work into turns one and three without having to use a lot of brake and then being able to get back on throttle as soon as you can. It’s a fun track when your car is working – not as much fun when you are struggling to find the balance.”

What do you think about the new points system?
“I definitely like the new system. I feel like the two teams that have been the strongest through the Chase are right there neck-and-neck. So, I think as far as if you want to base it off overall performance — and you would think with all the wins that Tony (Stewart) has he should be ahead. But, he’s had some bad finishes and setbacks. So, I think it’s right where it needs to be. I think that Homestead, (Edwards) is going to be very strong, I think he’ll be one of the guys to beat in Homestead. I think this is going to be the key as far as those two guys to see who has what. I’m kind of leaning in Carl’s favor in the sense that he’s performed the best all year long and Tony is obviously very hot right now, but that’s not going to keep going on forever.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

Denny Hamlin

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Can you talk about defending your race win here at Texas Motor Speedway? “It was a big turning point in the Chase for us last year. This is the point where everything starts getting a little tighter within the Chase and guys start thinking about the results quite a bit and all the position. It was a pivotal moment for us and a big momentum boost we felt like. We quickly got set back to reality the next week.”

How will your experiences in this Chase help you in future Chase appearances? “Honestly I’m so concentrated on making our program better right now that I’m paying the least amount of attention to other guys and what they’re doing, especially the championship guys. Really, for me, at this point in the season I’m just concentrating on what I need to be better and faster.”

What do you think of the new track at Phoenix? “I think it will be a fun race track. Driving it was like wow, this is a lot different than any other course we’ve ever kind of been on before with the elevation changes and things like that. I think it will take it a while for it to be a racy track in the sense of two-wide or three-wide racing. I think that’s going to be years and years down the road. They were at a point where the track was falling apart so they had to do something about it. Goodyear is trying to give us the best tire possible but not let us run too fast and not wearing out tires. They’ve had to put us on a hard tire there. We’ve seen in the past, hard tires and new asphalt makes for treacherous racing and I think that’s why people consider next week somewhat of a wild card because you could be caught up in an accident pretty easy on a restart.”

What happened between you and Tony Stewart on the track at Martinsville? “It didn’t matter if it was Tony (Stewart) or someone else, I probably would have done the same thing. I knew that whoever it was, they were fighting to stay on the lead lap. Tony never races me that hard ever. He was pinching me down, pinching me on the curb, chopping us — things like that and I was just saying over the radio if the roles were reversed, he would have sent me a long time ago into the fence if he was coming up to lap me and I didn’t move over. Tony called me and quickly said, ‘I realize, I felt like a jackass racing you that way, but I was just fighting trying to make something happen’ and I understood. That’s why I didn’t, because I have a respect for most of these guys in the garage area. I’m not going to send them and I feel like at times I get taken advantage of because of that but eventually down the road when I need to make moves, someone is going to have to get out of the way and I just didn’t feel like that was the right time. We were just going to lap the guy, we weren’t going to race him for the win or something like that. He said down the road he’ll repay that favor and we’ll see. I think that he will. He’s always been great racing to me and that’s why I showed him the respect that I did.”

How different is Phoenix now compared to the old track? “It’s a whole new track for sure. The stats are going to show previous winners and all that, but it will for sure be a different race track than what we’ve seen in the last 15 years probably at that race track. It is, it’s almost like a new race track, new facility that we go to and its inaugural race as far as I’m concerned.”

Who is your pick to win in the Alabama vs. LSU game on Saturday? “Bama wins by six. I think LSU has better athletes. I think Alabama is good at home and they are better coached. We’ll talk on Saturday evening to see if that’s right or not.”

How much do you miss NBA games right now? “No because I’m saving money on my courtside seats right now. I don’t mind that at all. A little bit. You have some key games that we’re starting to miss and things like that. Yeah, if I had courtside Lakers seats or something like that for the season, maybe. But, you know we do live in Charlotte.”

How will the Joe Gibbs Racing team perform in 2012 after a lackluster 2011 season? “I think our cars will get better. I think that they already are getting better. I think right now in my opinion the Fords are a leg up on everyone quite a bit. All of their cars are extremely strong and I think they have an advantage right now, but we’ve seen year over year if something happens in those two months when there’s no racing that teams find things and other teams lose things. I’m pretty sure, I’ve done three days worth of testing in the last week at different race tracks trying to work on our program and getting it better. I am very happy with the direction we are heading. We have improved our position in every Chase race. It’s easy when we’ve sucked as bad as the first three races that we did, but two races in we were 60 points behind and since then we’ve lost 20. It’s just one of those things where it has not been a good Chase for us and I know that next year we’re going to have some better race cars to come to the race track with and we’ve already found some things that I feel like that make me more comfortable in the race car and that will show up next year.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

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

RACE INFO:

Event: AAA 500
Date/Time: Nov. 6/2 p.m. CT
2011 winner: Denny Hamlin
2010 polesitter: Elliott Sadler
Distance: 334 laps/501 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Banking: 24 degrees
Track Shape: Quad Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Martinsville Recap: Denny Hamlin drove the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota to a fifth-place finish Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, leading 58 of the 500 laps en route to his fifth top-five finish of the season. With the result, Hamlin remains 11th in the Chase standings with three races remaining. Hamlin started 11th as Sunday’s starting order was decided by owner points when rain canceled qualifying, and was immediately collected in an early-race incident in front of him. With only minimal damage to the car, Hamlin used differing pit strategy and was soon able to work his way back up the field. It quickly paid off and Hamlin claimed the race lead by lap 63. Most teams on pit road used different strategies as the #11 machine shuffled throughout the top-10 as the laps clicked during the caution-filled event. Crew chief Mike Ford worked to free up the car for Hamlin just past the race’s midpoint, and on fresh tires and with improved handling, Hamlin was able to pass Jeff Gordon on lap 320 to reclaim the lead. Making his final pit stop of the day with less than 50 to go, Hamlin was forced to restart on the outside line after a flurry of late-race yellows and was unable to challenge for the win. Hamlin also became the 23rd driver in NASCAR history to win at least one race in all three national series with a victory in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event.

Texas Preview: The Series shifts to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 334-lap event on the 1.5-mile Fort Worth oval. Hamlin is the defending fall race winner at the track, leading 31 laps last November to take the checkered flag. The Virginia native swept both races at the track in 2010, leading 12 laps in the spring en route to victory lane. The FedEx team finished 15th at Texas earlier this year. Hamlin fought a loose race car throughout the 334-lap event, lost a lap to the leaders during a long green flag run in the race’s midpoint and never got a timely caution while in position for the “lucky dog.” In 12 starts at the track, Hamlin owns two wins and eight top-10 finishes, and has led 131 laps. Hamlin’s 9.3 average finishing position at Texas is second-best among active drivers, only trailing Matt Kenseth (6.8).

Race to Prepare: Hamlin, FedEx and the American Red Cross will team up to teach school children the importance of disaster preparedness and help build kits to be used in the case of weather-related disasters on Thursday at Cross Timbers Middle School in Grapevine, Texas.

FedEx Office – Closest to Texas Motor Speedway: 8509 Davis Blvd., North Richland Hills, TX 76180, (817) 281-9014

Bloomington, Minnesota Location Along for the Ride in Texas: The FedEx Office location in Bloomington, Minn., is leading the company’s President’s Club program, and will be recognized with its “0625″ code numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Texas Motor Speedway:

How do you focus on the final three races of the season?
“We just have to manage our expectations from here on out. I finished outside the top-eight in points only once in my career, so that’s something I’d like to keep going. We’re trying to get as much as we can. Obviously, being set back so far the first three races — we’re still at the same deficit we were at a few weeks ago. So, we’re maintaining it at this point with those top guys. It’s just hard to overcome that. My goal is to win a race before the end of the season. I feel that would go a really long way with our FedEx team and myself and the confidence level, and I feel like we could do that. We have some awesome race tracks ahead of us.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

Denny Hamlin

RACE INFO:

Event: TUMS Fast Relief 500
Date/Time: Oct. 30/1:30 p.m. ET
2011 winner: Denny Hamlin
2010 polesitter: Denny Hamlin
Distance: 188 laps/500 miles
Track Length: 0.526-mile
Banking: 12 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Talladega Recap: Denny Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Office Toyota to a top-10 finish at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, finishing eighth in the race won by Clint Bowyer. With the finish, Hamlin moved up one spot to hold 11th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings with four races remaining in the season. To start the race, Hamlin was the odd-man-out with 43 cars on the track and struggled throughout most of the day to find a draft partner. By lap 25 of 188, the FedEx team was down a lap and needed the Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap. Using various drafting partners throughout the remainder of the event — including teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman — the #11 Toyota worked from the back to the front. However, Newman’s damaged car was unable to keep the duo in the top-10, with the two slipping back. A caution with 15 laps remaining enabled Hamlin and Logano to link back up, and the duo sliced through the field to get back in contention. Hamlin was collected by Mark Martin in an incident, but quick work by the FedEx crew got Hamlin back on track for the finish, where he was able to move up to eighth for the checkered flag.

Martinsville Preview: The Series shifts to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, a track that Hamlin has had great success at throughout his career. The 30-year-old Chesterfield, Va., native has won four races at the 0.526-mile ‘paper clip,’ including the last two fall Chase races. Hamlin has been dominant at Martinsville in his career, finishing in the top-five in eight of 12 starts at the track. In the spring race at the track, Hamlin started fifth and led a race-high 89 of 500 laps, but an untimely caution after the FedEx team had made its green flag pit stop yielded a 12th-place finish. Hamlin swept the two races at the track in 2010, starting on the pole and leading 40 laps en route to victory lane in last year’s fall race. The spring race saw a determined Hamlin charge from ninth to first in four laps for the win, just two days before undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. Hamlin earned his first victory at Martinsville in the spring 2008 race, and won again in the fall of 2009. In total, Hamlin has led 1,038 laps at the track, and has an average finish of 6.6.

FedEx Office – Closest to Martinsville Speedway: 3731 Battleground Ave., Greensboro, NC 27410, (336) 282-5650

Piedmont District Along for the Ride in Martinsville: The FedEx Ground Piedmont district, covering most of North Carolina and southern Virginia, is one of the leading teams in “Quality Driven Management” principles, and will be recognized with its “PIED” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota this weekend.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Martinsville Speedway:

What has been your key to success at Martinsville?
“It’s really a combination of things. I have raced at Martinsville more than I have raced at any other track when you consider total laps. Growing up in Virginia I had the chance to race here in some other series and all that track time definitely gave me a comfort level at Martinsville. That carried over to trucks and Nationwide Series and now to the Cup Series. I feel really confident at this track and I know we bring great cars – those things together usually lead to success. It’s also a lot of pressure because this is a race we circle as one where we expect to be really competitive.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

2011 NSCS Denny Hamlin - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

RACE INFO:

Event: Good Sam 500
Date/Time: Oct. 23/1:00 p.m. CT
2010 winner: Clint Bowyer
2010 polesitter: Juan Pablo Montoya
Distance: 188 laps/500 milesTrack Length: 2.66 miles
Banking: 33 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Charlotte Recap: Denny Hamlin finished ninth in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Round 5 of the 2011 Chase for the championship won by Matt Kenseth.

Hamlin restarted fifth after the final caution with 12 laps remaining, but a tight race car prevented the 30-year-old driver from challenging for the win, as he collected his 11th top-10 of the season. The #11 FedEx Express Toyota started 17th in the 334-lap event around the 1.5-mile speedway. Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford worked through a tight condition on the race car during most of the race, but timely cautions, helpful adjustments and quick work by the FedEx crew on pit road put Hamlin inside the top-five with less than 100 laps to go. Hamlin ran among the top-five as the laps clicked, with his car working better on the short runs. A flurry of late-race cautions moved the #11 Toyota into the top-three, but the tight condition returned and track position shuffled Hamlin back in the final running order. The finish keeps Hamlin 12th in the Chase standings following Charlotte, 86 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

Talladega Preview: The second half of the 2011 Chase kicks off Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Hamlin has three top-five finishes and four top-10 results in 11 previous starts at the 2.66-mile high-banked oval, including a career-best third place run in the spring 2008 event. The #11 FedEx car has consistently been one of the fastest at Talladega in recent years, with Hamlin leading at least one lap in his first 10 starts at the track, and has led 10 or more laps in six events. Hamlin finished ninth in the Chase race at Talladega one year ago after starting 17th and leading four laps. Hamlin has the fourth-best average running position (15.1) at NASCAR’s longest track over the last six years, trailing only teammate Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya. In the spring race at Talladega this past April, Hamlin qualified 29th and spent the majority of the 188-lap event biding his time until the end. Working the tandem draft with Ryan Newman, Hamlin’s strategy was to avoid trouble early in the race to make a late push for the win. A late tire issue for Newman caused Hamlin to search for a new partner, finding one in Logano. The duo ran among the top-10 until three laps to go, when a spin in front of them caused the two cars to separate and Hamlin to lose the lead draft.

FedEx Office – Closest to Talladega Superspeedway: 117 Resource Center Pkwy, Birmingham, AL 35242, (205) 981-0077

Highland Village Along for the Ride in Talladega: The FedEx Office located in Highland Village, Texas, currently leads the company’s President’s Club program, and will be recognized with its “2198″ store numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Talladega Superspeedway:

Do you think Talladega owes you a win after leading so many laps at the track?

“You can never expect anything at Talladega other than you are going to need a great car and a good amount of luck. We’ve improved so much here over the years and we now come to Talladega thinking we can run up front and our record here shows that we can. It’s a matter of getting that strategy just right so when the time comes you know you are ready to go. If we can keep our car out of trouble at Talladega, I think we’ll have as good of a chance as anyone to win there.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

Denny Hamlin in car - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarret/Getty Images for NASCAR

RACE INFO:

Event: Bank of America 500
Date/Time: Oct. 15/7:30 p.m. ET
2010 winner: Jamie McMurray
2010 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 piloted the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota to a 16th place finish in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway last Sunday. With the result, Hamlin remains 12th in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings with six races remaining. The FedEx team started the day on the inside of row four after posting a strong qualifying run on Friday. Handling issues began to plague the car almost immediately after the start. Hamlin reported a lack of grip in the corners and worked with crew chief Mike Ford to try to bring the car to life. The second pit stop of the day came under green flag racing on lap 66, bringing a welcome opportunity for a wedge adjustment to help correct the handling problems. Despite the loose race car, the team was still running just outside of the top 10. A green flag pit stop on lap 172 finally paid off for the team, with another wedge adjustment that seemed to improve the car’s handling with Hamlin in 12th place. A string of caution flags closing in on the end of the race tested the strategy of the crew chiefs. Under caution on lap 220, the FedEx car came to the pits for a wedge adjustment, right side tires and enough fuel to take them to the end. During another caution flag on lap 240, Ford kept the FedEx car on the track, moving Hamlin up to second place. However, handling issues and older tires kept Hamlin from maintaining pace, and he dropped to 16th for the checkered flag behind winner Jimmie Johnson.

Charlotte Preview: Hamlin is making his 13th career Cup Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night, Round 5 of the 2011 Chase. The 30-year-old Virginia native has five top-10 finishes in 12 career races at the 1.5-mile oval, including a career-best fourth-place finish in the Bank of America 500 one year ago. Earlier this year, Hamlin started fourth, led 24 laps and finished 10th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. With differing fuel strategies among teams, Hamlin tried to conserve enough gas to make it to the finish after his final pit stop, but a caution with four laps remaining set up a ‘green-white-checkered’ restart with Hamlin in third. Leader Kasey Kahne ran out of fuel at the green flag, and Hamlin moved into second behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. However, both drivers ran out of gas on the backstretch of the final lap, and the #11 Toyota coasted to the checkered flag in 10th. In total, Hamlin has led at least one lap in eight of 12 races at Charlotte.

FedEx Office – Closest to Charlotte Motor Speedway: 7741 Gateway Lane NW, Ste 110, Concord, NC 28027, (704) 979-1971

Columbia, South Carolina Along for the Ride in Charlotte: The FedEx Express operations team in West Columbia, South Carolina will be recognized with its “USCA” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Charlotte Motor Speedway:

Does your position in the points allow your team to go for more race wins?

“We’re trying a lot of different things to work on different packages to get better. I feel like there’s some stuff within our cars and stuff that we need to work on, but we’re not going to get to that until next year. It takes a long process to develop cars. When drivers want to change them it takes a long time to get it done. So, I feel like we’ve got some good things in the works. As long as everyone is open-minded at the shop these next few weeks to a bunch of radical changes, I think that we have the potential to head in the right direction. I think that you’ll see in the next two to three weeks that we will be heading in the right direction.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

2011 NSCS Denny Hamlin - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

Event: Hollywood Casino 400
Date/Time: Oct. 9/2 p.m. ET
2010 winner: Greg Biffle
2010 polesitter: Kasey Kahne
Distance: 267 laps/400.5 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Banking: 14 degrees
Track Shape: Quad Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Dover Recap: Denny Hamlin battled an ill-handling race car throughout last Sunday’s race and finished 18th at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in Round 3 of the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford were never able to bring the #11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry to life, as a tight condition kept the 30-year-old driver from competing with the frontrunners in the 400-lap event at the ‘Monster Mile’ won by Kurt Busch. Hamlin started 11th and quickly worked into the top-five by the competition caution due to overnight rain on Lap 40. Varying pit strategies moved the #11 machine outside the top-10 as some teams elected for just two tires, and Hamlin was never able to regain the track position or handling to make a charge. The finish kept Hamlin 12th in the Chase standings after three of 10 playoff races, 68 points behind new leader Kevin Harvick.

Kansas Preview: The Series shifts to Kansas Speedway for the fourth race of the 2011 Chase on Sunday afternoon. Kansas is the site of Hamlin’s first Cup Series start in 2005. Hamlin has two top-five finishes in his last three starts at the 1.5-mile oval, including a career-best third place result at the track earlier this year. In that June race, the FedEx Racing team played the fuel strategy game to perfection. Ford called Hamlin to pit road under caution with 111 laps to go — giving up third position — to make adjustments on the #11 Toyota and get inside the fuel window to make it the distance with just one more stop. Falling back to 21st in the running order, Hamlin charged through the field to get back up near the top-10. As the race stayed green and the front-running cars were forced to pit road for fuel with around 10 laps to go, Hamlin moved up to second. Leader Brad Keselowski was able to stretch his fuel to the end for the victory, and Hamlin’s tight car wouldn’t allow him to hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr. for runner-up.

Race to Prepare: Hamlin, FedEx and the American Red Cross will team up to teach school children the importance of disaster preparedness and help build kits to be used in the case of weather-related disasters on Thursday at Mark Twain Elementary School in Kansas City, Kan.

FedEx Office – Closest to Kansas Speedway: 13450 W. 87th St. Pkwy, Lenexa, KS 66215, (913) 894-2010

Fort Worth Along for the Ride in Kansas: The FedEx Freight service center in Fort Worth won the “People Service Profit (PSP)” Compass Excellence Award, and will be recognized with its “FTW” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota this weekend.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Kansas Speedway:

How do you feel about heading back to Kansas?
“I’m looking forward to it. We ran really strong in the Kansas race in the spring and really 1.5-mile tracks in general have been good to us here lately as far as our performance. We look forward to going back to them. It’s the normal type races of what we have during the season and stuff that we’ve worked on will hopefully apply to those race tracks.”

How do you help the local communities with the ‘Race to Prepare’ program?
“What we’ve been doing with those events is going into different places where kids go for recreation and while we have some fun with them, we try to teach them how to prepare for disasters really strike that area the most, whether that’s floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and things like that. Obviously we’ve seen what natural disasters have happened over these last six months or so that anything is possible. We’re just trying to inform these kids of what they can learn with their parents as far as getting prepared for what unforeseeable might happen.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

Denny Hamlin in car - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarret/Getty Images for NASCAR

RACE INFO:

Event: Pure Michigan 400
Date/Time: Aug. 21/1:00 p.m. ET
2010 winner: Kevin Harvick
2010 polesitter: Kasey Kahne
Distance: 200 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 2 miles
Banking: 18 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Watkins Glen Recap: A promising start to Monday’s rain-postponed NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International turned scary on Lap 66, as Denny Hamlin walked away from a head-on collision into the retaining wall outside the first turn. Hamlin started 42nd in the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota after a qualifying spin on Saturday, but a fast race car and perfect fuel strategy put him on the cusp of the top-10 for the final third of the 92-lap event, won by Marcos Ambrose. Good on gas for the remainder of the event, Hamlin was primed for a top-five result. However, an issue on the #11 machine heading down the front straightaway prohibited Hamlin’s ability to slow down for the first turn, resulting in a spectacular shunt into the tire barrier. Hamlin was transported to the infield care center, examined and released. The finish dropped Hamlin one spot to 12th in the NASCAR point standings following Watkins Glen, 126 points behind leader — and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate — Kyle Busch. He still holds one of the two Chase “wild card” spots with four regular season races remaining.

Michigan Preview: The Sprint Cup Series heads back to Michigan International Speedway this weekend for the second of two 400-mile races on the two-mile track in 2011. Hamlin was victorious in the June 19 event at Michigan, using a quick two-tire stop under the final caution to take the lead and hold off Matt Kenseth over the final eight laps en route to victory lane. Hamlin started 10th in the #11 FedEx Office Toyota for the 200-lap event on the two-mile track, but couldn’t find the proper balance in the car for much of the race. Running in the back half of the top-10 as the laps dwindled, Hamlin moved up spots while cars in front of him were forced to pit road for fuel with less than 50 laps to go. Hamlin got up to fourth before a caution on Lap 160, when everyone came back in for fresh tires. The FedEx crew held serve, and Hamlin climbed two spots to second on the restart. Trailing Carl Edwards and conserving fuel to make it to the end, an incident on Lap 191 bunched the field again, and the FedEx crew got Hamlin out first, the deciding move of the race. It was Hamlin’s second career victory at Michigan, also winning the June event in 2009. Hamlin has a streak of five-straight top-10 finishes at the track heading into Sunday’s race, and owns seven top-10 results in 11 starts at Michigan. He finished second to Kevin Harvick in the August event one year ago.

FedEx Office – Closest to Michigan International Speedway: 2800 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104, (734) 665-2400

North Central Ohio Along for the Ride in Michigan: The FedEx Freight district covering north central Ohio will be recognized with its “MFD” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota this weekend.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Michigan International Speedway:

What is team’s outlook heading into the final four races before the Chase?
“We’ve got four races to get back to trying to be competitive and consistent during a full course of a race. Obviously, we have shown a lot of speed over the last few weeks, but just not the ability to finish as well as what we have run so we’ve got to continue to work on that to first of all be a part of the Chase, and then if we are, to be competitive in there.”

How do you feel after the big hit at Watkins Glen?
“I feel better than I thought I would. That was a big hit. The only thing really maybe harder was the Talladega one I had when I had the concussion a couple years ago. That was about the worst. (Watkins Glen) was just terrifying because you know there’s nothing you can do and you’re headed straight for the fence. That was the scariest I’ve been in my car.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

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

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What is your outlook on trying to get into the Chase? “We’ve got five, six races to kind of get back to trying to be competitive and consistent during a full course of a race. Obviously, shown a lot of speed over the last few weeks, but just not the ability to finish as well as what we run so we’ve got to continue to work on that to first of all be a part of the Chase and then if we are to just be competitive in there.”

What is your team thinking after the pit road incidents at Pocono? “We’ve got to finish first, and for four or five years I’ve been saying the same thing. It’s so frustrating from my standpoint that I don’t feel like we truly get the finishes that we deserve, and to deserve them every piece of the puzzle and everyone has to do their job and do it well. We’ve just struggled to do that consistently. So, that’s something we’ve got to work on and obviously everyone in our team knows that.”

What is your team’s attitude heading into Watkins Glen this weekend? “The core group of guys are the ones that travel every week, everything is good. We have a great relationship. There’s no animosity amongst us. Everyone knows they’re doing their best, but it’s just frustrating at times when mistakes just cost us week in and week out.”

Audio: 2011 NSCS Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen Pre-Race Press Conference with Driver Denny Hamlin

Can you close the gap and climb into the top-10 with five races to go before the Chase? “It can be overcome. There’s a mix of some different race tracks that could very well separate things. I don’t think that me, the 14 (Tony Stewart) or the 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.), 16 (Greg Biffle) or the 33 (Clint Bowyer) — none of us are going to have a flawless five races. I think that it’s going to be the battle over who can be the most consistent is going to be the biggest key or who can sneak in and get a win. So, it’s going to be tough to see between the five of us or so how this all plays out. Going into Richmond I wouldn’t want to be more than five points behind. I don’t want to be behind to begin with. You feel like you can possibly beat guys on any given week by three, four, five spots but that’s tough to do.”

Will you take risks in the final five races before the Chase if it gives you a good chance to get a win? “I think it’s going to depend on the situation. It’s so tough to say. Every caution flag that comes out that’s kind of in your window, but it’s not is a different situation. Like I said, for us, we feel like we can get in there based off of performance — performance only. You take how fast is our car this weekend and that should get us in. But, we’ve got so many variables right now that you’ve got to factor in that it’s so unpredictable. So, it’s hard for me to say whether we’re willing to take that risk to get the second win versus trying to get into the top-10. We don’t know. I think it’s going to depend on honestly what kind of day our competitors are having also.”

Do you think you can get another win at Michigan next week? “We do, and at this point if we would’ve won last week then I’d be real optimistic but it’s so unpredictable. Some of our best race tracks we’ve had the biggest amount of issues at. So, it’s so tough to say what’s going to be our strong suit nowadays. Michigan has been a good track. We haven’t finished I don’t think any worse than second over the last three races so we need to go there and we need to perform well. The track changes quite a bit obviously in those few months. I think it just gets a little bit warmer and other than that it loses a small amount of grip. The setups we’ve run over the last few years have been pretty similar from the first race to the second.”

What do you think about the Michigan pit road improvements? “It won’t change that much for us. Unless it really changes the configuration and things like that, it won’t change really what we do. You have to run a certain speed. One thing it will let you do is get into the boxes a little bit more aggressive if there’s newer pavement than what there was in the past.”

Are you close to breaking through and winning at Bristol Motor Speedway? “We hope so. We always seem to have a strong car there — don’t really get good finishes. Here lately we had a wreck, I think in the spring. It’s just one of those tracks where we look to go there and run well. It’s a short track. Obviously we feel like we should run well. Kyle (Busch) is so good at the track, I will probably be leaning quite a bit on him to try and gain some more information, because really he’s kind of got that track down pretty well.”

Why do we see so much aggression on the road courses? “I think people have a different mindset. Honestly, I think that people think that they can run over guys on road courses and not have repercussions like they do on the ovals. I think on the ovals when it happens, you know you’ve got one coming, where on a road course people think, ‘Oh, that’s okay to run over the guy in front of me. He’ll get over it.’ I agree. I think I saw something with Jeff Burton not too long ago commenting on the road courses. It’s true. Guys do not show each other very much courtesy on these tracks, but it’s just part of hard racing. You know you’re going out there and you’re going to be — after the last road course race in Sonoma (Infineon Raceway) I told my crew chief, ‘Build me a tank. Build me something I can hit guys and slam into guys and I can be hit without my car falling apart.’ You just know that it’s part of racing nowadays.”

When you get upset as a driver, is there a line you can’t cross? “It’s an invisible line we can’t see. It is tough because here lately I’ve been so frustrated week in, week out over not finishing as well as I run because of a bad pit stop or something, lug nuts fall off or something breaking — all that stuff. It’s just so frustrating at times, but that’s part of what makes this a team sport. You’re going to win together and my team has won me as many races as they’ve lost me. And I’ve done the same to them. It’s just one of those things where it’s frustrating at times that even the guys that had a career day, their best day changing tires or carrying tires, or I had a career day driving, it doesn’t matter because if not everyone pulls their weight than you don’t get the finish that it takes to win. For me, that’s what’s been frustrating, but you’ve got to just know that eventually those things will hopefully get fixed and come around and you’ll find yourself back where you belong up towards the top.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Denny Hamlin

Event:Heluva Good! At The Glen
Date/Time: Aug. 14/1:00 p.m. ET
2010 winner: Juan Pablo Montoya
2010 polesitter: Carl Edwards
Distance: 90 laps/220.5 miles
Track Length: 2.45 miles
Turns: 11 turns
Track Type: Road Course

EXPRESS NOTES:

Pocono Recap:Denny Hamlin led a race-high 65 (of 200) laps Sunday at Pocono Raceway, but a lengthy final pit stop relegated the FedEx Racing team to a 15th-place finish. Hamlin — a four-time winner at Pocono — started sixth and quickly worked up to the front on the 2.5-mile ‘Tricky Triangle.’ The 30-year-old Virginian took the lead on Lap 25 and led 65 of the next 77 circuits during a long green flag run just prior to the race’s midpoint. The caution flag flew on Lap 101, and differing tire strategies shuffled the #11 Toyota back in the running order. With rain looming, Hamlin maintained third-place behind leader — and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate — Joey Logano, and when the skies finally opened up on Lap 125, the red flag came out, lasting nearly two hours. When officials dried the track, Hamlin came to pit road for fuel, tires and adjustments, maintaining pace in the top-10. As the laps clicked, Hamlin battled a loose race car in traffic, pitting twice under green just inside the team’s fuel window to make it the distance. The event’s final caution flag flew on Lap 181 with Hamlin running seventh. Crew chief Mike Ford called Hamlin to the pits for two tires, hoping the fresh rubber and double-file restart would catapult the team into contention for the win. However, a hang-up on the right-rear tire during the stop kept the #11 machine in the pits longer than expected, returning in 17th-place. Hamlin was able to make up two spots in the final 15 laps to finish 15th. The result kept Hamlin 11th in the NASCAR point standings following Pocono, 102 points behind leader Carl Edwards after 21 of 26 ‘regular season’ races. Hamlin continues to hold one of two Chase ‘wild card’ spots, alongside Pocono winner Brad Keselowski.

Watkins Glen Preview: The Sprint Cup Series shifts to upstate New York for the season’s second and final road course event, Sunday at Watkins Glen International. Hamlin is making his sixth-career Cup start at the 2.45-mile, 11-turn circuit, looking to avenge a crash one year ago that led to a 37th-place finish. Hamlin finished in the top-10 in his first four trips to The Glen, including a career-best runner-up result in 2007. He finished eighth in 2008 and owns a pair of 10th-place finishes — in 2006 and 2009. In five events, the FedEx team has never started worse than 14th, including an outside pole run in 2007 and third-place starting position in 2009. Hamlin qualified fourth and led 12 laps earlier this season on the road course at Infineon Raceway.

FedEx Office – Closest to Watkins Glen International: 605 W. State St., Ithaca, NY 14850, (607) 272-0202

Gulf Coast Along for the Ride in Watkins Glen: The Gulf Coast FedEx Ground district covering parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and the Texas coastline will be recognized with its “GCST” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota this weekend.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Watkins Glen International:

What are you expecting to see at Watkins Glen this weekend?
“I think this weekend will be a crazy race for a lot of reasons. Many of the guys outside the top-10 will be looking to do anything to get that first or second win, the road course guys will be in the mix and battling, and the guys at the back half of the top-10 will try to avoid the madness and get a good finish. As we saw in Sonoma earlier this year, guys drive very aggressive on these road courses, and with the new ‘wild card’ format for the Chase, anything is possible. Our team is in a position where a string of good finishes can get us back into the top-10, and a second win would put us in good shape for a ‘wild card’ spot. Watkins Glen has been a good track for us in the past, and our road course cars have been pretty fast lately. We had a good car in Sonoma, and I’m expecting another fast car this weekend. We’ll see how it shakes out.”

What are the keys to success at Watkins Glen?
“Compared to Sonoma, the Glen is a lot faster. You need to be smart with the brakes, especially running down into turn one where you have your main opportunity for passing, and it’s a place where you are carrying a bunch of speed. You are working to get the car slowed down and trying to turn as all of that weight is shifting to the front of the car under braking. Getting that brake balance right is really important, and like Sonoma, fuel strategy is big, too.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

Denny Hamlin

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What did you do during your off-weekend? “We just went somewhere down south. A little island. That’s about it. It was a lot of fun for sure.”

Do you expect to see more drivers gambling with fuel mileage in order to make the Chase? “Yeah, that’s about really the only thing they can do different is that if they are not in contention for a win during the course of the day because their car is not fast enough they’re going to have to maybe come in and top off, lose the track position and hope that the race goes green and that we have a fuel mileage race. Really, other than that you can’t change your strategy that much over what it already is.”

Do you think Richmond is going to be interesting with guys trying to get in the Chase? “Yeah, if they are in position to try to get the win, yeah, you’re going to see them being extra aggressive but you’re not going to be able to do it from eighth to 10th-place if that’s where you’re running. We don’t know — we might be in that position. You can only do what you’re able to do right there in front of you. Obviously, some guys going for a win on a last lap or something and it’s a guy that’s fighting for a Chase spot and or ‘wildcard’ position — it definitely could get physical.”

Audio: 2011 NSCS Brickyard 400 Pre-Race Press Conference with Driver Denny Hamlin

What do you think of the Sprint Summer Showdown promotion? “It’s a big deal. It’s a huge goal for myself. I think these races lay out for us really, really well. To me, I put my money on myself. Let’s put it that way.”

Do you think it takes away the uniqueness of winning $1 million in the All-Star race? “No, because I think that it is a different format. The way you win it is a little bit different and if there’s no multiple winners you’re going to have five guys or so at Atlanta with a shot to win that kind of money. I would tune in to Atlanta.”

What are your memories of racing at Lucas Oil Raceway? “That is such a great race track and you hate to see it go away because I remember getting my very first Truck start there. Really, in the top-three NASCAR series that was my first run. Just my memories from that track real quick — I remember battling for 10th-place on the final lap with Kyle Busch and I kind of nudged him up out of the groove and he ran into me after the checkered flag. I thought that was awesome because he was the new guy coming in when I ran that race. I was like ‘That’s pretty good.’ Now, we are obviously teammates and all. I hate to see that place go because it’s got a special memory for me.”

Why have you been so successful at Pocono Raceway? “It’s just one of those race tracks I’ve got a really, really good feel for honestly. There’s not too many tracks where you feel like when you pull in you just can’t do no wrong, but that’s kind of one of the places. Honestly, we feel like we should’ve won twice as many races there as what we have even though we’ve won a lot. It’s just every time we go there we’re in position to win the race just about every time. Fuel or things like that doesn’t always help you complete the job, but we’ve had the fastest car there probably 80 percent of the time.”

What do you have to do to give yourself and your team a break before the Chase starts? “It’s tough, but we plan for the Chase in January and February whether it be car schedule or anything like that. When I raised level of concern over performance or anything like that it’s always like, ‘Be patient. I think we’re going to peak at the right time.’ And, we did that last year really well and I think we’re trending towards that this year. Last year at this point we were winning races one out of three or four races or so and you really can’t get any better, but we were able to maintain it in the Chase. At this point, we’ve got seven weeks to get to that performance level that we had and hopefully it starts this weekend. I know that Indy is a crucial weekend in the sense of where this is, where the turning point is for the season. These next seven weeks you’ll find out who is a Chase contender and a championship contender.”

Is it hard to fight to get into the Chase and then go on to perform well in the Chase? “It’s hard to do. I think we’ve seen it with a lot of guys that limp into the Chase. It’s tough for them to really be challengers in the Chase because you do put so much effort — you change your car schedule around and things like that trying to bring all of your best stuff to the race track in the weeks leading into the Chase where you’re trying to solidify your spot. I know that’s at least how we did it in 2008, I think when we were kind of on the bubble. It makes it tough to contend when you have to put all of your effort in the races leading up to the Chase.”

TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Denny Hamlin — Notes & Quotes Indianapolis Motor Speedway – July 29, 2011 -more- PAGE 2

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (continued) What makes it so tough to perform well in the Chase if you have to fight your way in? “The car schedule, for us, is what’s tough because obviously we can’t bring the best race car we have in our shop to the race track every single week. We have to plan for that. So, we always plan for our best stuff to obviously come in the Chase, like everyone else does in the garage. But, when you’re trying to fight for that spot you can’t afford to wait that long.”

Does that compare to what VCU did in the NCAA basketball tournament earlier this year? “Yeah, it’s the exception to the rule in that sense, but a lot of that has to do with chemistry and obviously getting their feet under them before their tournament actually started. They had the benefit of going out there and playing beforehand.”

How much different is it this year in trying to figure out who is going to be in the Chase? “It’s a completely different dynamic for sure. You look at it and you’re like, ‘There’s a guy 22nd or 21st, but he’s got a chance to get in the top-12 in 20 points when on paper it looks like he’s maybe 80 (points) behind’ — I’m just making up a number. It’s a different dynamic, but I like it. There’s never been this much buildup to a ‘wildcard’ spot or positions 11th and 12th as it has been this year. It’s just that winning mentality that NASCAR has put in our heads and it’s obviously working.”

Has there ever been this much parity in NASCAR? “No, and you look and nobody is able to keep the points lead for longer than a couple weeks and then they drop out and somebody else takes over. It’s an extremely competitive year. I don’t think anybody has more than three wins. At this point last year, I think there were a few guys with over four wins. It’s becoming tougher and tougher and a lot of that is because these fuel mileage races are playing out to where who knows who is going to win until the final lap.”

How much has NASCAR changed from the days of drivers winning 15 or 18 times in a season? “Those days are just way past us. These drivers are too good. These teams are too even nowadays for someone to go out there and win more than 10 races.”

What is your favorite turn at Pocono? “Me, I personally like the tunnel turn the best in turn two. I think it’s one of the most challenging turns that we have in all of NASCAR. A lot of people will tell you that. But, it’s just what it takes to be faster there is so hard because you are on edge throughout that whole corner. It’s very narrow and you can’t run side-by-side there and so you have to time your passes well in that corner.”

Did you think the new shifting rule at Pocono in June was a good thing? “I don’t think it changed that much for me. There were times during the race that I was shifting and times when I wasn’t just depending on what kind of mode I was in. It does add something. I think whether it adds different passing zones I’m really not sure of. So, it’s a lot different than I think what NASCAR set it out to be.”

Do you ever think about how many guys have won in the 11 car? “I do, I look at the names and it’s an awesome list. And, for me just to be 10 percent of the total wins of that 11 car, I’ll take it because there’s some heavy duty names in front of me. Parnelli Jones is one that is big. Obviously, Mario (Andretti) is big but Darrell Waltrip helped a lot as far as getting those wins. Cale Yarborough — I mean these are the best of the best names and a lot of it is because its Junior Johnson’s cars and things like that. Bill Elliott is on that list and that’s big for me because he’s always been a childhood hero.”

Are you the rumors of Carl Edwards coming to Joe Gibbs Racing a distraction? “Not to us. I don’t know whether it is to him or the executive team at Joe Gibbs Racing. For us, I’ve never even talked to Joe or J.D. (Gibbs) about it so it’s definitely not been affecting us at all.”

What would you think of Carl Edwards as a teammate? “I think it would be good for our team. I think that the dynamic of the three drivers that we already have is good. Having a guy that has already contended for championships and wins on a weekly basis can’t be a bad thing.”

What kind of challenge does the heat present a driver during the weekend? “We typically, when we come to this race track it’s always been hot. Some years hotter than others. It just makes it tough on drivers to stay hydrated throughout the weekend. You really have to plan the meals and what you eat correct for the two to three days that lead into a race. You’ve got to take the things that help keep the fluids in your body. You just treat this a little bit more methodical as far as your diet and hydration leading into the weekend.”

Does the heat present your car any challenges? “It really doesn’t change that much for us. I mean, we race at a lot of race tracks where it’s 90 plus degrees out so we don’t change the setup based off of that. We may run the car a little bit tighter than what it would be normally because typically the hotter the race track gets it pulls the oils up out of the surface and the track loses grip. So, we kind of adjust the setup for that.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Denny Hamlin

Event:Brickyard 400
Date/Time: July 31/1:00 p.m. ET
2010 winner: Jamie McMurray
2010 polesitter: Juan Pablo Montoya
Distance: 160 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 2.5 miles
Banking: 9 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Loudon Lookback:The FedEx Racing team played the fuel strategy game to perfection in the most recent NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 17), overcoming early track position, a mid-race spin and an ill-handling race car for a hard-earned, third-place result.
Denny Hamlin restarted third with 56 laps to go on the one-mile oval and worked into second behind leader Ryan Newman as both were trying to conserve fuel to make it to the end of the 301-lap race. Hamlin saved enough gas to take the checkered flag third behind Newman and Tony Stewart, who passed the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota with less than 10 laps to go. Hamlin started 14th and battled a loose race car early in runs on the relatively flat New Hampshire track. Giving up a few positions on restarts while waiting for the car to come around, Hamlin battled back in traffic to maintain pace in the top-15. Differing tire strategies by teams on pit road shuffled the #11 between 10th and 20th through the race’s midpoint, with crew chiefs and drivers jockeying for important track position. Shortly after a restart on Lap 167, a chain reaction led to contact to Hamlin’s left-rear, sending him spinning in Turn 2, and collected by another car just as the incident settled. Luckily, the damage wasn’t significant and Hamlin restarted 32nd, before slicing his way back through the field into the top-20 when a caution for debris came out on Lap 216. Hamlin pitted one lap later for air pressure and track bar adjustments — his final stop of the day — with instructions from crew chief Mike Ford to conserve fuel. The adjustments brought the car to life, and as the #11 machine worked into the top-10 and many of the lead lap cars came to pit road during the final two cautions on Lap 226 and 241, Hamlin found himself in third on the Lap 245 restart and saved enough fuel to make it to the end. The finish kept Hamlin 10th in the NASCAR standings following New Hampshire, 82 points behind new leader Carl Edwards.

Brickyard Bound: Following the final off-weekend of the 2011 season, the Sprint Cup Series shifts to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) for Sunday’s Brickyard 400. Hamlin is making his sixth career IMS start Sunday in the #11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry. The 30-year-old Virginia native has two top-10 finishes in five previous events at the 2.5-mile oval, with a career-best third-place run 2008. That year, Hamlin and the #11 team endured – and successfully managed – the nearly untenable tire situation at Indy to score a well-deserved top-three result. Leading for a total of 26 laps during the two stints that brought the field to the final competition caution, Hamlin exited pit road third and was unable to catch eventual winner Jimmie Johnson or runner-up Edwards. Last year, the FedEx team battled through a pair of early unscheduled pit stops after grass clogged the #11 machine’s grille and sent water temperatures soaring. Fighting to regain track position throughout the event, Hamlin found himself with fresh tires on the final restart on Lap 149 and charged towards the front to salvage a 15th-place finish.

FedEx Office – Closest to Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 5030 W. Pike Plaza Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46254, (317) 297-2679

Phoenix District Along for the Ride in Indy: The FedEx Express district in Phoenix won the Dispatch Circle of Excellence Award seven times in FY11, and will be recognized with its “PHX” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:

What will it take for you to get that first win at Indianapolis?
“I think we’ve shown at Indy that we have what it takes to win there and the team really builds great cars for this track. It’s a track where JGR cars have won before and a track that I really like from the driver’s seat so we go there feeling like we can unload fast, get better in practice, and compete on Sunday. To win here you need the car, the driver and the crew all at their best, and then have a lot of things go your way. We have had our share of issues at Indy, but if you take those away there is no reason we can’t run up front.”

What are your chances of winning the Sprint Summer Showdown?
“Obviously, I’m very excited about the Sprint Summer Showdown and going for a million bucks for a fan. These next five races include some very good tracks for this FedEx team, places that we have won at before — Pocono and Michigan — and Indy and Bristol, where we have been really close. Also, I love road course racing and we showed in Sonoma that our road course cars are pretty fast, so Watkins Glen is another one we have a chance to win. For the guys that win these next five races, and I hope I’m one, Atlanta is going to be an awesome event. This is the part of the schedule where people are really focusing on getting those good finishes to make the Chase, but with the new ‘wild card’ system and now the Sprint Summer Showdown, it will be all about wins. I love it.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Logo

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 21, 2011)

All three of the Joe Gibbs Racing cars were found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in an event does not conform to NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20 of the NASCAR rule book, or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the event); and 20-5.5.4A (oil pan, failure to submit component) of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book.

As a result, the three crew chiefs – Mike Ford (No. 11 car), Dave Rogers (No. 18 car) and Greg Zipadelli (No. 20 car) have been fined $50,000 each and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. In addition, all three car chiefs – Chris Gillin (No. 11 car), Wesley Sherrill (No. 18 car) and Jason Shapiro (No. 20 car) along with Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Jimmy Makar have been placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.

- NASCAR, Press Release

2011 NSCS Denny Hamlin - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

RACE INFO:

Event: Goody’s Fast Relief 500
Date/Time: April 3 at 1:00 p.m. ET
2010 winner: Denny Hamlin
2010 polesitter: Kevin Harvick (points)
Distance: 500 laps/263 miles
Track Length: 0.526-mile
Banking: 12 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

California Recap: Denny Hamlin’s promising start to the Auto Club 400 ended early on Sunday, as an engine failure in the #11 Toyota forced the FedEx Racing team to retire from the event after just 105 of 200 laps. Hamlin started second and needed just seven laps to pass polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya, and was out front for the next 15 circuits. Staying in the top-five for the first two cycles of green flag pit stops, Hamlin battled a tight race car but remained in contention. Differing pit strategies during the race’s first caution on Lap 76 shuffled the #11 back to 12th for the restart, and just three laps later, Hamlin radioed that something was amiss and fell to the tail end of the field. A series of checks on the track and on pit road during the next caution revealed the issue was in the engine, and the team pushed the car to the garage, where they determined it was terminal. As a result, Hamlin was scored in 39th for the race and dropped four spots to 21st in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings following Auto Club Speedway.

Hamlin’s House: Despite the early-season misfortune for the #11 FedEx team, Hamlin keeps a positive outlook heading into Sunday’s race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, and for good reason. The 30-year-old Chesterfield, Va., native has won four races at the 0.526-mile ‘paper clip,’ including the last three in a row. Hamlin has been dominant at Martinsville in his career, finishing in the top-five in eight of 11 starts at the track. Hamlin swept the two races at the track in 2010, starting on the pole and leading 40 laps en route to victory lane in the fall race. The spring race saw a determined Hamlin charge from ninth to first in four laps for the win, just two days before undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. Hamlin earned his first victory at Martinsville in the spring 2008 race, and won again in the fall of 2009. In total, Hamlin has led 949 laps at the track, and has only one finish worse than eighth (37th in 2006) in his career.

FedEx Office – Closest to Martinsville Speedway: 3731 Battleground Ave., Greensboro, NC 27410, (336) 282-5650

Plains District Along for Another Ride in Martinsville: The FedEx Plains District continues to lead the way in package care and will be recognized for the second time this season with its “PLNS” letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota this weekend at Martinsville. The district encompasses all of Kansas and Missouri, eastern Nebraska, and much of Iowa.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY:

What has been your key to success at Martinsville?
“It’s really a combination of things. I have raced at Martinsville more than I have raced at any other track when you consider total laps. Growing up in Virginia I had the chance to race here in some other series and all that track time definitely gave me a comfort level at Martinsville. That carried over to trucks and Nationwide Series and now to the Cup Series. I feel really confident at this track and I know we bring great cars – those things together usually lead to success. It’s also a lot of pressure because this is a race we circle as one where we expect to be really competitive.”

How important is it for the FedEx team to have a solid run this weekend?
“It’s important, for sure. Our FedEx race team usually starts slow, and we kind of use Martinsville as a springboard for our season, but we’ve had good cars this season and haven’t been able to put the finishes together. For me, it’s been frustrating because Mike (Ford, crew chief) has worked hard to make sure we’re competitive each week, but we just haven’t had the luck. Luckily, we have some good tracks for us coming up, and hopefully we can put together a few good weeks and get that first win. Martinsville is a great place to start that.”

2011 FEDEX RACING – TEAM ROSTER

Crew Chief: Mike Ford – Morristown, Tenn.
Front Tire Changer: Jonathan Sherman – Monroe, La.
Car Chief: Chris “Spider” Gillin – Smithtown, N.Y.
Front Tire Carrier: Brandon Pegram – Statesville, N.C.
Engineer: Mike Wheeler – Southholt, N.Y.
Rear Tire Changer: Mike Hicks – Salisbury, N.C.
Shocks: Drew Bible – Coldwater, Mich.
Rear Tire Carrier: Heath Cherry – Belmont, N.C.
Tire Specialist: Patrick Mullen – Brick, N.J.
Jackman: Nate Bolling – Swanton, Ohio
Engine Tuner: Chris Woodward – Franklin, N.H.
Gas Man: Scott Wood – Liberty, S.C.
Mechanic: Rick Bray – Placerville, Calif.
Pit Crew Coordinator: Paul Alepa – Vienna, Va.
Mechanic: John Furino – Long Island, N.Y.
JGR Athletic Director: Michael Lepp – Charlotte, N.C.
Spotter: Curtis Markham – Fredericksburg, Va.
Hauler Driver: Jerry Hess – Lancaster, Pa.
Hauler Driver: Frank Hodel – Blythe, Calif.

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

2011 Denny Hamlin - Photo Credit: Harold Hinson Photography (HHP) for Charlotte Motor Speedway

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What does it mean to you to be wearing the Jordan brand? “I think it’s a big deal for myself and really NASCAR. The Jordan brand has never been in NASCAR before. It was a dream come true for me. I mean, for me the Jordan brand represents excellence in sports and really it’s good to have that partnership. It’s a personal deal for myself to have a Jordan branded fire suit, obviously it will be on the gloves and we’re working on shoes and things of that nature. I’d love to see it personally from my standpoint, to have an apparel line with those guys in the future so hopefully we’ll get that done in the future to where some of the fans can have it as well.”

Audio: 2011 NASCAR Media Day at Daytona Press Conference with Denny Hamlin

How did your partnership with the Jordan brand come about? “Its funny how those things work up. Obviously, everyone knows me and Michael (Jordan) had a relationship through the Bobcats, have had some golf tournaments and stuff together. Michael is a bigger motorsports fan than what people give him credit for. He always used to talk to me last year about how the race went because he watched the races and he wanted to know questions of why did this happen? Why did that happen? I never really knew he kept track of racing that much until I looked and dug a little deeper and found that he’s had his motorcycle race team since 2004. He’s always been an avid motorsports fan, just never knew the right situation to get into NASCAR and he felt like I was the right representative for him.”

Do you think the Jordan brand will get NASCAR out to a wider audience? “I personally think it’s going to relate a lot to a lot of these sports athletes that come to these races each and every week they don’t always recognize and understand with us. I feel like they’re going to see that and recognize the brand. There’s guys on the Yankees that are Jordan branded athletes. Obviously, I’m their first race car driver. For me, this is a huge stepping point and hopefully something that turns into something very big within our sport.”

What do you think the chances are of all three Joe Gibbs Racing cars making the Chase this year? “I’d say it’s probably 75 percent. Obviously, Joey (Logano) is going to have to get in there for the first time and being that this is his third year it’s probably a good opportunity and a good chance for him to do that. He showed at the end of last year that he’s got the speed and consistency to do it now so it’s just going to be about him believing in himself that he can be part of the top-10.”

Is momentum from last season harder to retrieve than it is to achieve? “It’s tough. It’s tough to get going. Trust me, we talk about it every beginning of the year and I’m sure we’ll all be talking about it five to six races in that our cars were starting slow. We always do every single year and I really don’t know why that is. I’m not trying to be middle of the pack, but it just seems to work that way. We just ease into a season. I don’t know what it is with our race team, but we can’t fake momentum. We can’t go into Daytona and just fake the momentum like we had. Even in 2009 when we ended on such a high note and won Homestead, it took us a while to get going in 2010. So, hopefully the same works out for this year but I see our summer and fall months being different.”

Has your relationship with Mike Ford changed after what happened at the end of last season? “It’s no different. Our relationship really is the same as it was going into last year even though we had the fuel issues that we did at Phoenix, we still had the wreck that happened at Homestead. There were a lot of things that kept us from winning a championship, but I have no hard feelings towards him or him towards me either way for that. We gave ourselves a heck of a championship run and even though the last two weeks of the season didn’t go the way we wanted it to we still had 34 weeks of a lot of celebrating to talk about. For us, it was a career year and for me I just take the things and the mistakes that I’ve made and move forward with it.”

Do you feel more calm going into this season then in year’s past? “I think this year, I’m more anxious than I was in any of the years in the past, but I’m more calm about it. Its two different things. I just have an understanding for how things work now. I understand that you can’t panic in the first three or four races. You’ve got to just work your way into the season, and even though this is the first day of school for everyone and its new and everyone has the same goals and optimism at this point. We know when we leave Daytona reality sets in, and that’s when you see what all of the hard work that you’ve done over these last two months whether the results were good or not.”

Why do you think you are calmer going into this season? “I think it just happened as I got older. I think it’s just you see it in all sports. Any veteran is obviously a lot more calm than the rookies and a little bit less intense than what the rookies are. I carried that same intensity and passion out on the race track, don’t get me wrong, but how I get to that point and the way that I prepare myself is a little bit different.”

Were you concerned with what Mike Ford said at Texas about your team being better than the 48 team? “Looking back at it, he (Mike Ford) was just showing a lot of confidence in our race team. He felt like our race team was better. And, in what instance was our race team not better? We had the same group of guys at Homestead that we had all year long. Those other couple teams switched people around and had to move people around to get a better race team. For us, we stuck with our guys no matter what, through thick and thin and at that point we had the best race team. We were on top of the standings. So, why not stick your chest out and have a little bit of confidence.”

Does Mike Ford remind you of Rex Ryan? “I think he’s the absolute, total 100 percent opposite of Rex Ryan. He never says anything, and talking with Mike (Ford, crew chief) in the offseason he said, ‘Now I know why I never said anything before that particular point.’ That’s because anything that you say kind of gets blown up and I know first hand that it definitely can be so you’ve got to be careful.”

How frustrating was it for you to see the 48 team win the championship yet again? “It was very frustrating especially being that I felt like we outperformed those guys. Flat out, I feel like we performed better we just didn’t execute as good if that makes any sense at all. I felt like the 29 (Kevin Harvick) had the best season as a whole. They put the whole season together. The 48 (Jimmie Johnson) performed good obviously and executed and capitalized on us and the 29s mistakes. As far as the speed and winning and all of that I felt like we outperformed everyone.”

Is there something you can specifically point to that justifies your optimism this year? “One is coming off a career year you’re going to feel like — for me, since my rookie season and going into 2007 I’ve never taken a step back. It’s always been, we had a great 2006, rookie season and had a chance to win a championship. 2007 the driver just tried to make up too much, and then since then these last four years we have steadily marched — more wins, higher in the points every single year and obviously there’s only one more place to go. I don’t consider myself stepping back at all and obviously anything less than what we did last year is going to be considered to myself a failure in the sense of that I took a step back. I didn’t accomplish what I did before. Given, there’s a lot of variables. Whether your cars are as good, pit crew is as good and things like that. We’ve never taken a step back with our FedEx team and that’s something I’m proud of.”

Would winning a championship and being the first person to beat the 48 team be double the excitement? “He (Jimmie Johnson) has won the championship ever since I’ve been in the sport in 2006 so for me a change at the top would be good. I felt like we very easily could be talking about me going for three in a row versus him going for six in a row. In 2009, I felt like we outperformed them in the Chase and just blown motors flat took us out. All those things that could’ve, would’ve, should’ve didn’t happen and now it’s on us that we have to execute. Not perform, but execute.”

What did you think and where were you when you found out Dale Earnhardt passed away? “I didn’t believe it personally. I remember watching the race obviously and seeing it and it’s just like everyone else thought, it didn’t look too bad. Then next thing you know you get a phone call and someone says they heard something and next thing you know you log onto the internet and there’s rumors here and there on whether he has or hasn’t passed. Then the next thing that you know it becomes reality when you see his face on TV. For me, I remember that for me as a race fan that was probably the first time I’ve ever cried because of something else outside of my life that has actually happened. It was a big event. Trust me, I’ll say it right here, I wasn’t the biggest Dale Earnhardt fan. I was a big Bill Elliott fan and he was the alpha. But still, everyone had a respect for him and obviously he touched a lot of people even though he might not have been your favorite.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release