Denny Hamlin: Express Facts - Atlanta Motor Speedway

NOTES:

DENNY HAMLIN IN #11 CAR AT ATLANTA: JGR Busch Series driver Denny Hamlin stays in the seat of the #11 FedEx Ground Chevrolet for the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. It will be his fourth start in the #11 FedEx Monte Carlo, fourth career NASCAR Nextel Cup start, and his first Cup race at Atlanta. Hamlin has one previous start at AMS, starting 19th and finishing 16th in the Aaron’s 312 Busch Series race on March 19, 2005.

HAMLIN RIDING TOP-TEN STREAK TO GEORGIA: Sunday’s race in Atlanta will mark Hamlin’s fourth Cup start and he already has his own tough act to follow. In his first three Nextel Cup starts Hamlin has two-top ten finishes (eighth at both Charlotte and Martinsville) and only an unfortunate cut tire spoiled a very promising debut at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 9.

Hamlin’s promise also has been on display in qualifying where his average starting position of 17th is the best three-race average for the FedEx team in 2005.

CHASSIS NO. JGR 92: The Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 will be the fifth Cup start of the season for this car. Most recently, Hamlin drove this car to an eighth-place finish in the UAW-GM Quality 400 at Charlotte on Oct. 15, 2005. Hamlin’s JGR teammate J.J. Yeley recorded a 25th place finish in the MBNA Race Points 400 at Dover on Sept. 25th and Terry Labonte drove this car to a 40th place finish at Michigan on Aug. 21after being forced to the garage early with engine trouble. Prior to that Jason Leffler drove this car to a 33rd-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Aug. 7. The back up car is JGR 71.

HAMLIN’S #11 HISTORY: Despite being his first run in the #11 FedEx Monte Carlo, Hamlin’s history with the #11 dates back to 1997 – to his debut in the NASCAR Mini-Stock series at Southside and Langley Speedways. Denny’s car that year, a white Ford Probe sporting the #11. Hamlin started 34 races between the two series, recording eleven poles and eleven wins on his way to becoming the Mini-Stock Track Champion at Langley, and the Limited Dash Champion at Southside. Hamlin also was named Mini-Stock “Rookie of the Year” at both tracks.

POINTS RACE: Following Hamlin’s eighth-place finish at Martinsville last weekend, the FedEx Team remains in 35th place in owners points and currently sits 52 points out of 34th place.

HAMLIN IN 2005: In addition to recent Cup starts, Hamlin has run the full 2005 Busch Series schedule in the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing/Rockwell Automation Chevrolet – recording one top-five and ten top-ten finishes to date. With three races remaining, Hamlin sits in fifth place in the Busch series standings.

PAINT SCHEME: The #11 FedEx Chevy Monte Carlo will sport the FedEx Ground paint scheme at Atlanta, which is one of four it will display in 2005 representing four of the FedEx operating companies; FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Kinko’s. The Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 marks the sixth time the FedEx Ground scheme will run in 2005.

DENNY HAMLIN ON ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
"Atlanta Motor Speedway presents an entirely new set of challenges for me. Unlike Martinsville, which I knew well and was really comfortable running, my experience at Atlanta is limited. It’s an incredibly fast track but we have shown we can run the fast intermediate tracks pretty good so we have high expectations.

"The guys on the #11 team have been giving me great cars, allowing me to post good results. We are taking the same car to AMS that I ran at Charlotte two weeks ago. It’s a good car and we know what it can do once we get it where we need it.

“This experience of running this FedEx car has been incredible for me. I knew it was a great opportunity from the moment J.D. (Gibbs) told me I would have the chance but I never would have dreamed it would go so well, so fast. I give a ton of credit to the crew for the cars they are giving me, but also to the guys who drive in the Cup series – there is a ton of talent out there and racing with them has taught me a lot, and given me a lot of confidence moving forward.”