FedEx Racing Express Facts – Richmond International Raceway
Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Express Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: Federated Auto Parts 400
Date/Time: Sept. 12/7:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 400 laps/300 miles
Track Length: 0.75 miles
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 14 degrees
2014 Winner: Brad Keselowski
Express Notes:
Darlington Recap: Denny Hamlin finished third in Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, leading three times for 57 laps in the #11 Sport Clips Toyota en route to his third-straight top-five result in the event won by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards. Hamlin lined up third for the race’s final restart with 10 laps remaining and dove to the inside of Edwards in Turn 1. Edwards cleared Hamlin, who fell in line in second, as the two ran just a handful of car lengths apart as the laps wound down. Hamlin made one last effort in Turn 3 on the final lap, but to no avail, and was consequently passed by runner-up Brad Keselowski before the checkered flag. Hamlin started sixth in the caution-filled race (an event record 18 yellows), and showed his strength early and on long runs. The team never got to show its full hand on a long green flag run, and with fresh tires so important on the worn surface, track position and fast pit stops became key. Hamlin came into the pits in fifth during the final caution. The finish moved Hamlin up one spot to eighth in the NASCAR standings with one regular season race remaining on the schedule, Sept. 12 at Richmond International Raceway.
Richmond Preview: The FedEx Racing Team heads back to Hamlin’s hometown track this weekend for Saturday night’s 400-lap race at Richmond. Hamlin, from Chesterfield, Va., is a two-time winner at RIR, victorious at back-to-back fall races at the three-quarter-mile track in 2009 and 2010. The 34-year-old has led 1,390 laps at Richmond and sports a 11.1 average finishing position in 18 Cup Starts there. Hamlin started second and finished 22nd at Richmond earlier this year.
Hamlin Helps: The Denny Hamlin Foundation will make a $50,000 donation to the Virginia Commonwealth University Children’s Hospital for cystic fibrosis research on Thursday as part of charitable proceeds from the 2015 Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown late model race, held earlier this year at South Boston (Va.) Speedway. The Foundation has now donated more than $200,000 to the hospital in the last four years. Also, the upcoming Fourth annual “Denny & Mark’s Pro-Am Jam” golf tournament in South Carolina will also direct funds to CF research. The event in Charleston has raised and distributed over $500,000 in the its three-year history, with $150,000 of the proceeds directed to cystic fibrosis research at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Richmond International Raceway
Races: 18
Wins: 2
Top-5: 7
Top-10: 9
Average Start: 10.1
Average Finish: 11.1
Laps Led: 1,390
Hamlin Conversation — RICHMOND:
How would you gauge the FedEx Team’s performance as the Chase nears?
“We definitely would like to have a couple more wins, but I think our cars have been really fast lately and we’re peaking at the right time. We have shown speed these last few weeks and I think the Chase sets up well for our FedEx team. Hopefully we can go to Richmond and get a few more bonus points for the first segment of the playoffs. The organization has had a lot of success lately and everyone is feeding off of that. Now it’s up to us to put everything together and get to victory lane, and there is no better place to do that than Richmond.”
Orlando Ramp Along for the Ride at Richmond: The FedEx Express ramp in Orlando, Fla., will be recognized for outstanding service with its “ORLA” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend at Richmond.
FedEx Office – Closest to Richmond International Raceway: 1111 E. Main St., Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 783-9880
Press Kit: Download the 2015 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Dave Rogers and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights, statistics and the 2015 crew roster.
#11 FedEx Racing – 2015 Crew Roster
Crew Chief – Dave Rogers
Car Chief – Joe Fiorelli
Engineers – Chris Gabehart, Kenny Oates
Shock Specialist – Ron Denton
Tire Specialist – Jamie Turski
Mechanics – Joey Forgette, Jerad Hewitt, Jason Clements
Spotter – Chris Lambert
Front Tire Changer – Dustin Necaise
Front Tire Carrier – Brandon Pegram
Rear Tire Changer – Mike Hicks
Rear Tire Carrier – Heath Cherry
Jack Man – Nate Bolling
Gas Man – Caleb Hurd
Pit Crew Coordinator – Paul Alepa
Athletic Director – Mike Lepp
Transportation – Kyle Bazzell, Bob Hannigan
