Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team posted an impressive fourth-place finish the Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last weekend.  It was the best All-Star performance for Hamlin and team, and hopefully a good omen for the return to points racing for the Coca-Cola 600 – the longest event of the Sprint Cup season and a test of physical, mechanical and strategic endurance.  The finish, earned through a strong effort from Hamlin behind the wheel, and good strategy from the #11 pit box, confirmed that the package the #11 team prepped for the All-Star race is as competitive as anything they’ve previously put on the pavement at the LMS.   


Hamlin at Lowe’s Motor Speedway

The Coca-Cola 600 will mark Hamlin's eighth Cup start at Lowe's Motor Speedway and 127th career Cup start.  In three previous Coca-Cola 600 starts, Hamlin has narrowly missed out chances to win the prestigious event.  Most recently, Hamlin was on his way to a top-ten run when he was forced to pit on lap 398 and ultimately finish 24th on the day. It was a cruel twist for a team that worked to repair substantial front-end damage to Hamlin's #11 FedEx Freight Camry suffered during the restart on lap 307.  In his first and second 600 starts, Hamlin qualified and finished in the top-ten on both occasions.  In 2006, Hamlin led on three occasions for a total of 25 laps on his way to a ninth-place finish.  In 2007, Hamlin ran a strong third before being forced to pit for fuel with five laps to go,  Despite a quick stop, several cars passed as they stretched their fuel loads and Hamlin had to settle for a disappointing, though well-deserved ninth-place finish. Hamlin’s performance across his eight starts at LMS leaves him with identical average starting and finishing positions (16.3).


FedEx Express Pineville, N.C. station “Along for the Ride” in Charlotte

The #11 FedEx Express Camry will feature “PNVA” on the wing caps this weekend during the Coca-Cola 600 in recognition of the Pineville station's efforts to improve efficiencies and deliver an outstanding service experience to customers.  The station, located approximately 30 miles south of the track currently employs 170 workers.


FedEx Crew Change

Mike Hicks and Jonathan Sherman, the tire changers on the #11 FedEx team changed positions during the All-Star weekend and will make the switch permanent moving forward.  Sherman will take over front tire changing duties while Hicks moves to the back. 


Coca-Cola 600 Weekend Chassis – JGR 196 & 232

The #11 FedEx team will be putting JGR 196 back on the track this weekend for the Coca-Cola 600.  This car ran in the All-Star event last Saturday evening and both driver and crew alike were extremely pleased with the performance.  This car posted a 13th-place finish at Atlanta in 2009 and top-ten runs at Pocono and Darlington in 2008.  232 will serve as backup and has yet to make a Cup start.


HAMLIN CONVERSATION– COCA-COLA 600


600 Miles at LMS is the longest race of the season.  Is it more challenging?

“To be honest, I don’t feel the difference in length, the extra 100 miles, in the car over running 500 miles.   You are so focused, and especially at a place like Lowe’s where you are running high speeds and the laps go by quickly, you don’t sense it. The only time it hits me during this race is when we reach the halfway point and it seems like we’ve already run a lot of laps.   This is a fast track that has been made faster over the past couple of years so it requires that much more concentration and that’s a good thing when you are in the car – there is no time to think about anything else.  Same goes for the crew.  These guys are serious about their practice and conditioning and I know they’ll be ready.  They take a lot of pride in performing during this race because they want to show they are at their best at the end of a long day, when the race is on the line.”


You had a strong run in the All-Star Race last weekend, how much of what you learned translates over to this coming weekend?

“Without the testing we’ve had here in the past we tried to learn as much as we could during the All-Star weekend – we almost treated it as another practice session for the Coca-Cola 600.  In the race, we were really tight in the opening segments but we made gains toward the end and I know we were paying close attention to what the car was doing in different conditions, what effect our changes were having, and also what the guys were saying during the open.  The 600, with the big change from day to night keeps you on your toes but the car last week felt as good as I can remember here so I think that gives us a little confidence.”