Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team looked poised to challenge for a win last weekend at Talladega.  Hamlin led on seven occasions for a total of 28 laps before being caught up in a multi-car incident with only with seven laps to go.  Despite having a dominant car for much of the race, Hamlin was unable to make it back to the front before the checkered flag came out and was scored in 22nd place.  Hamlin holds on to fifth place in the Sprint Cup standings heading to Richmond this weekend.


Hamlin at Richmond International Raceway

This weekend will mark Hamlin's seventh career Cup start at his hometown track and 125th career Cup start.  Last time out in Richmond, Hamlin and the #11 team led four laps but fell out of the top-five through the middle section of the race before charging back to claim  a hard-fought third place.  A year ago the Chesterfield (Va.) native Hamlin and the #11 team thoroughly dominated the 400-lap event at Richmond, leading 381 laps in the Crown Royal 400 before a cut tire forced him to relinquish the lead and settle for a gut-wrenching 24th-place finish.  Hamlin had a memorable debut at RIR, going wheel to wheel with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the spring of 2006 before ultimately finishing second on the day.  Hamlin has captured two poles in front of his hometown fans and has led at least four laps in each of his previous starts at RIR.


FedEx Home Delivery – West Coast Region “Along for the Ride” in Richmond

The #11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry will feature “QWST” on the wing caps this weekend at Richmond International Speedway.  QWST is the code for the FedEx Home Delivery – West Coast Region and the group is being recognized for leading all FedEx Ground regions in customer service scores.


Richmond International Raceway Chassis – JGR 238 & 204

The #11 FedEx team will unload JGR 238 this weekend at Richmond.  This car has one start - a second place finish at Martinsville in March of this year when Hamlin led a race-high 296 laps.   JGR 204 will serve as the backup this weekend.  This car posted a third-place finish in Atlanta in the fall of 2008.


Home Sweet Short Track – Hamlin Racing for Charity at Southside

Hamlin will relish racing at not one, but two home tracks this weekend.  On Thursday night, the Denny Hamlin Foundation hosts its second annual Short Track Showdown at Southside Speedway in Midlothian (Va.).  Hamlin will be joined by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, as well as two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart – and  they’re all racing in the name of charity.  Last year’s race raised over $50,000 for the Denny Hamlin foundation which works to raise awareness and funding for Cystic Fibrosis research and treatment, as well as support other not for profit corporations that focus on helping children with debilitating illnesses.  For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.DennyHamlinFoundation.com

HAMLIN CONVERSATION - RICHMOND


Do you spend any time thinking about that race at RIR one year ago?

“It definitely replays in your mind for sure.  There’s obviously nothing we could’ve done.  It wasn’t like I second guessed something that I did and I could’ve changed something to prevent us from not winning that race.  It’s just one of those things that bad luck strikes.  The good part is knowing that we’re going back to the same track hopefully with the same weather conditions and we’ll have a car that is just as strong.  We’re going to go back on the same setup and if it isn’t as strong we’re going to fine tune it.  Race tracks and races like that just slip away.  It takes a little time to get over them for sure. In my opinion, the Nationwide race that I won there the night before that was the biggest win pretty much of my career regardless of whether it was Cup or Nationwide.  Just winning at home, it didn’t matter what series, was the biggest win for me.  We had a shot to go back-to-back, have the poles and win both races and that was going to be a good, good weekend for me.  It seemed like it overshadowed everything that did go good that weekend just in those last 10 laps.”


What were your emotions like the moment you realized you had a tire going down?

“I just noticed it going into one particular corner -- a driver understands and knows the attitude of his race car.  I knew air was coming out of the right front tire and at that point I was just praying for anything -- maybe a caution or something.  I knew that our race was over right at that point even if a caution had come out.  The guys behind me weren’t going to pit and we were going to lose the race anyway.  It was just frustrating.  You can’t describe the emotion.  It’s just one of those points in a driver’s career where he says that this is the race that this track owes me.  This is the point where I say that this race track owes me and that was the one for Richmond.”


Talk about your short track charity race this week at Southside Speedway?

“It’s a great event and it’s something I look forward to more and more every year.  I feel like I grew up in racing at Southside and still consider this area my home, so to go back there and hold this race in front of a lot of friends and family is pretty cool.  This year we have Kyle, Joey and Tony in the field and we are trying to make this a fun event for all of the fans.  We want them to come out and enjoy some really fun racing while knowing that all of the proceeds are going to a great cause.  It means everything to me to be able to give something back and this race is great way to do just that.”