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FedEx Racing Express Facts - New HampshireRACE INFO: EXPRESS NOTES: Sonoma Review: Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team suffered through every kind of disappointment on their way to a 27th-place finish last weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. After carving his way forward from the 13th-place on the starting grid, Hamlin ran in sixth place before preparing for his first pit stop on lap 30. Unfortunately, the first caution of the day came out before Hamlin could pit and the progress was undone. Back in the field, Hamlin suffered through misfortune in the form a solo spin in turn 11 on lap 51 and was then forced off the track from behind when traffic stacked up in turn two following a lap 109 restart. The result sees Hamlin drop to eighth in the Sprint Cup standings. Hamlin, FedEx Racing to Make Special Delivery in Boston on Thursday, June 26: Before making their way to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in hopes of delivering a second consecutive July Cup race win, Denny Hamlin and FedEx Racing will stop in Boston to deliver a hybrid Toyota Prius to Community Servings - a non-profit organization that prepares, packages and delivers meals to those in need throughout the greater Boston area. The donation from FedEx will be presented during a program at the group's facility in the Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain and Hamlin will be joined by crew chief Mike Ford and members of the #11 FedEx team. (For more information on the event, please contact Jon Mason) Hamlin Returns to Friendly Confines of New Hampshire Motor Speedway: This will be Hamlin's fourth start at NHMS in a Sprint Cup car and his 96th career Cup start since joining the Cup Series full-time in 2006. In the July race at Loudon last season, Hamlin led 46 total laps but needed a late-race, two-tire call by crew chief Mike Ford to give him the track position needed to restart out front and hold off a late challenge from Jeff Gordon to take the win by the slim margin of .0068 seconds. In the fall 2007 edition, Hamlin never had the handling needed to compete for win and the race was chalked up as an exercise in frustration for the entire #11 FedEx team. After starting 14th, Hamlin stayed mired in traffic and essentially unable to pass for the entire race only to finish 15th on the day. Two starts at New Hampshire in 2006 saw him post impressive finishes of fourth and sixth, respectively. The #11 team looked to have a chance at the win in the July 2006 race before a bizarre caution-lap wreck forced the race into extra laps and forced Hamlin to stop for fuel instead of challenge eventual winner Kyle Busch. New Hampshire Motor Speedway Chassis: JGR 214 and 162: This will be the first start for 214. Chassis 162 started both Loudon races last season, recording a win and a 15th place finish. It has served as a back on five occasions so far this season. HAMLIN CONVERSATION - NEW HAMPSHIRE: You won this race a year ago - does that give you any added confidence coming back?: "This sport changes so much that I really don't see us going back with any great advantage having won a race there. Even though we did win there last season it was one of those days where we maybe didn't have the best car. Mike (Ford) made a great call and the crew was great in getting us the track position when we needed it and then we made the most of it over the final laps. I am sure Jeff (Gordon) would have liked one more lap because he was right on my bumper. It was a good win for this team but when we look at the tracks where we expect to be good, it's more about our performances there over several races - not just in one. We've had better cars at New Hampshire in the past and not won so it just goes to show that you need a lot of factors working in your favor to win a Cup race. In the fall we struggled at New Hampshire - we couldn't pass - we just missed on our setup a little and then we struggled all race long but overall we've been pretty consistently good there so we know it's a track where we can be a factor." What does it take to win at New Hampshire?: “It’s much faster than you would expect from a relatively short track because of the long straights. You have to hit your marks for breaking and entry and then race off the corner. So as you are working to get on the throttle as quickly as possible, you have to be really careful because it's easy to get loose and with track position at a premium, you can't afford to make those mistakes. If someone has a better car, they'll get by you eventually but you can't make mistakes and let a lot of cars by because you'll spend your whole day just trying to get those spots back. I like the tracks that demand you to feel your way through the corner and New Hampshire is one of those tracks. You need to find that rhythm, hit your marks, and work on your line throughout the race. You also need to be really good on pit road and with your strategy. As this team knows, you can take some chances to get to the front and it can pay off." |
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