NSCS: FedEx Racing Express Facts – Dover International Speedway

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: AAA 400
Date/Time: May 15/1:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 400 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 1 mile
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 24 degrees
2015 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

Express Notes:

Press Kit: Download the 2016 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Mike Wheeler and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights, statistics and the 2016 crew roster.

Kansas Recap: Denny Hamlin was involved in a crash with just 26 laps to go in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, causing major damage to the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota and relegating the team to a 37th-place finish in the event won by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch. Hamlin started third, but battled numerous issues on pit road. A problem early on with the left front tire dropped the #11 deep in the running order and Hamlin was forced to the tail end of the field twice during the 267-lap event for pit road speeding penalties. Following the penalties and with the race winding down, Hamlin was mired back in 18th when the caution came out with 32 laps to go. Crew chief Mike Wheeler called Hamlin to pit road for right-side tires only, catapulting the FedEx car to sixth for the restart with 29 laps left. Three laps later, Hamlin attempted to dive to the inside of second place Brad Keselowski, but Keselowski defended the move forcing Hamlin to the middle with Kyle Larson outside. The jockeying for position entering Turn 3 unsettled the air around the cars and both Keselowski and Hamlin spun, making contact with other cars in the process. The finish dropped Hamlin one spot to 13th in the NASCAR standings following Kansas, 117 points behind leader Kevin Harvick after 11 of 26 regular season races.

Dover Preview: The Series heads to Dover International Speedway for Sunday’s 400-mile event on the high-banked concrete oval. Hamlin has three top-five finishes and six top-10 results in 20 career starts at Dover, with a best finish of fourth in 2007 and 2010. He has captured three poles at the track (2012, 2013 and 2015), and has started among the top-three in each of the last three Dover events. Hamlin started on the pole and led 118 laps in the spring race at Dover one year ago.

Hamlin Statistics:

Track: Dover International Speedway

Races: 20

Wins: 0

Top-5: 3

Top-10: 6

Average Start: 11.2

Average Finish: 19.2

Laps Led: 261

Hamlin Conversation — DOVER:

How can the FedEx team regain its winning form?

“Our FedEx team has the speed needed each week to compete for race wins, but some mistakes that I have made and other issues have taken us out of contention. Once we clean up some of the mistakes, I think we’ll be back at the front battling for victories. That’s the great part of this new Chase system. We are fortunate to have a win already, so adding wins is all we are focused on at this point. We’ve had some strong runs over the last couple years at Dover, and hopefully this weekend we can be there at the end.”

World Center Marriott Along for the Ride at Dover: The FedEx Office location inside the World Center Marriott in Orlando will be recognized with its “5517” code numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend at Dover.