Denny Hamlin: Express Facts - Homestead-Miami Speedway

NOTES:

DENNY HAMLIN TO RUN #11 IN 2006: Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Nov. 6 that Denny Hamlin will take the wheel of the #11 FedEx Chevrolet for the remaining races of the 2005 season and all of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. The 24-year old from Chesterfield, Va., has six total starts in the #11 heading into the season finale at Homestead and has already recorded three top-ten finishes. Hamlin and the FedEx team will look to carry over his 2005 success into a strong rookie campaign in 2006. Hamlin also currently drives the #20 JGR/Rockwell Automation Chevrolet in the NASCAR Busch series and will run the complete Busch schedule in 2006 as well.

HAMLIN WINS POLE AT PHOENIX: Before taking the track at Phoenix, Hamlin stated that PIR was his favorite track and he was looking forward to his first crack at the 1.0-mile track in a Cup car. That enthusiasm carried over to Saturday when Hamlin turned in a lap of 26.835 in the #11 for his, and FedEx Racing’s, first career Bud Pole award. Along with the starting from the front for the Checkers Auto Parts 500, Hamlin qualified for the Bud Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 11, 2006.

HAMLIN RECORDS 13th-PLACE FINISH AT PHOENIX, MAINTAINS STREAK: Despite not turning in the performance he wanted in Phoenix after starting from the pole, Hamlin’s 13th-place finish at PIR continues his incredible start to his Cup career. Hamlin led the race twice on Sunday for a total of 23 laps, eclipsing in one race the total laps led by the #11 so far this season. Through six Cup starts this season Hamlin has recorded three top-ten finishes (Charlotte, Martinsville, Texas) and five top-20 finishes, only missing the top-20 at Kansas on account of a cut tire. To date Hamlin has completed all but three of 2074 possible laps and his average finishing position stands at 14.5.

HAMLIN PULLS DOUBLE DUTY AT HOMESTEAD: For the fifth time this season Hamlin will compete in both Nextel Cup and Busch Series races in the same weekend. Hamlin’s double duty at Homestead will serve as practice for the 2006 season in which he will drive the full schedule in both series. This season, Hamlin traveled between Cup and Busch races at Martinsville and Memphis in late October, and ran companion weekend races at Kansas, Texas and Phoenix.

CHASSIS NO. JGR 115: The Ford 400 will be the third Cup start of the season for this car. Most recently, Denny Hamlin drove this car to a seventh-place finish in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 6. Prior to that, the only Cup start for the car came at Kansas when Hamlin recorded a 32nd-place finish in the Banquet 400. Chassis #115 traveled to Kansas as a backup but was replaced the primary car after a spin in qualifying. Hamlin started from the back at Kansas on account of the car change and had an extremely competitive car before suffering a cut tire and going two laps down when forced to pit under green. The back up for the Ford 400 is JGR 49.

POINTS RACE: Following Hamlin’s 13th-place finish at Phoenix last weekend, the FedEx Team remained in 32nd place in owners points. Since taking the wheel of the #11 FedEx Chevrolet, Hamlin has pulled the team up three spots from 35th place.

PAINT SCHEME: The #11 FedEx Chevy Monte Carlo will sport the FedEx Express paint scheme at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which is one of four it has displayed in the 2005 season representing four of the FedEx operating companies; FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Kinko’s. The Ford 400 marks the nineteenth time the FedEx Express scheme will run in 2005.

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 eleven top-ten finishes to date. With one race remaining, Hamlin sits in fifth place in the Busch series standings.

DENNY HAMLIN ON HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY:
"This will be my first race at this track so I have been doing my best to learn from others as far as what to expect. It will be fast but we have shown over the past six weeks that we can compete on the intermediate tracks and I have full faith this team will have a car ready to run.

“Similar to Charlotte, Kansas City, Atlanta and Texas, my goal is to spend as much of the practice time in the seat as possible getting used to the surroundings and getting a feel for the car. Having some time in the Busch car helps as well because it’s another opportunity to pick up on track characteristics, and get a sense of how the surface changes with the temperature and through different times of the day.”