On paper, starting fourth and finishing fifth could seem like a quiet night, but it was anything but for Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Freight team two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway. Hamlin and the team put together an excellent race, taking advantage of great pit stops and strong restarts to continue a mid-season surge and earn a fourth top-five finish in five weeks. The result sees Hamlin climb to fifth place in the Sprint Cup standings through 19 races, 172 points ahead of Greg Biffle in 13th.
Hamlin, FedEx Racing to Prepare in Indianapolis
Before racing at the Brickyard, Hamlin and FedEx will join the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis for a different type of race. Hamlin will welcome more than 70 Indianapolis-area students to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday for the Race to Prepare, an event that stresses disaster preparedness through the building of a disaster kit and preparedness education. As part of the company’s commitment to supporting disaster preparedness and relief efforts around the world, and in celebration of the existing relationship with the organization, FedEx will be making a donation to the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis.
Hamlin at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
This weekend will mark Hamlin's fourth Cup start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and 135th-career Cup start since making his debut in 2005. Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team 1endured - and successfully managed - the nearly untenable tire situation last year at Indy to score a well-deserved third-place finish in the Brickyard 400. Leading for a total of 26 laps during the two stints that brought the field to the final competition caution, Hamlin exited pit road third and was unable to catch eventual winner Jimmie Johnson or runner-up Carl Edwards. Hamlin started tenth at Indy in 2007 and suffered through an early pit road speeding penalty (lap 17) that dropped him to 42nd place. He steadily worked his way back through the field and was nearing the end of the fuel run on lap 127, when he notified the crew that he was out of fuel. The loss of position hurt Hamlin on the day and he was forced to settle for a 22nd-place finish. In 2006, expectations were high after a dominating performance at Pocono – a track that shares characteristics with Indy – but intermittent engine problems left Hamlin running on seven cylinders for much of the race. Though down on power, Hamlin was able to navigate the turns at Indy as quick as anyone in the field but was ultimately losing too much time on exit to work his way any higher than tenth on the day.
IMS Chassis – JGR 246 & 225
The #11 team will unload chassis #246, a brand new car from the JGR stable, this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chassis #225 will serve as a backup this weekend. 225 has one start in 2009 (22nd-place in Las Vegas) and made two appearances last season.
FedEx Express Fact
Mike Ford, crew chief for the #11 team, won this race in the same role in 2002, guiding Bill Elliot to his sole win at the Brickyard.
FedEx Office Cluster #1515 "Along for the Ride" at Indy
In recognition of their outstanding commitment to customer service, FedEx Office cluster #1515 will be featured on the wing caps of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Cluster #1515, located in Huntsville, Ala., led all clusters in customer service metrics for fiscal year 2009. Congratulations to Cluster #1515.
Hamlin Conversation – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
You’ve been close at Indy before - can this year be the year for the #11 team at this famous track?
“I think we’ve shown at Indy that we have what it takes to win there and the team really builds great cars for this track. It’s a track where JGR cars have won before and a track that I really like from the drivers seat so we go there feeling like we can unload fast, get better in practice and compete on Sunday. To win here you need the car, the driver and the crew all at their best, and then have a lot of things go your way. If we take the issues that have hurt us here – we had motor trouble and a speeding penalty here in the past – if you take those issues away there is no reason we can’t run up front. Last season was unlike anything I have experienced so it’s hard to compare it to what we would consider a normal race here. Even though we were running such short segments, our car was still really good.”
You have a good run of results going – how much of a factor does momentum play in this sport?
“Like it is in any sport, momentum is important in racing. You build confidence through good races and that’s what is happening with this FedEx team. We’ve been working hard to step up our game and it’s paying off on the track. With each good run we gain more confidence but we aren’t losing our focus. This sport calls for constant improvement if you want to run up front and we are seeing it in our new cars coming out of the shop, on our pit stops, and in the work of the whole team. Last season we came here outside of the top-ten and knowing we needed to get our season turned around to make the Chase. This season we are running pretty good but sill looking for a win. This would be a great place to get it. I was fortunate to take the tour of the museum here last year and you can’t say enough about the history of the place. To be a part of that history is something everyone who races strives for.”
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