Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track that boasts over 100 years of racing history, was a place Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Office team wanted to forget at the conclusion of last weekend’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.  Hamlin’s day unraveled when he pitted for the first time on the afternoon and the drive shaft broke on exit from pit road.  In addition, the shifter broke off the transmission leaving Hamlin not only unable to shift gears, but physically holding the shifter in his right hand.  The Chesterfield (Va.) native coasted around the 2.5-mile track and into the garage where crew chief Mike Ford and the FedEx Office crew replaced the drive shaft and shifter in less than 20 minutes but lost 16 laps on the track to the leader in the process.  The setback essentially ended Hamlin’s day at Indy and saw him drop one spot in the Sprint Cup Series standings.  He now holds the sixth spot, 157 points ahead of David Reutimann in 13th place.


Hamlin at Pocono
This week will mark Hamlin’s eighth start at Pocono, 136th career Cup start, and a return to the site of Hamlin’s first Cup win three years ago.  Hamlin's record at the three-turned Pocono Raceway speaks for itself, having won both 2006 races at the track from the pole as a rookie and doing so in dominating fashion.  Hamlin, an early favorite heading into the July 2009 event at Pocono Raceway, suffered a fuel pump problem as the field took the green and roared toward turn one.  The failure sent Hamlin immediately to the garage where the part was changed, but after returning to the track and experiecing a similar problem, Hamlin was forced back to the garage where the ensuing repairs put him 22 laps down to the leaders.  Unable to make up the laps, Hamlin and the team ran out the race in 38th place. A year ago, Hamlin posted a 23rd-place finish, an anomaly when compared to Hamlin’s prior average finish of 2.8.  In June of 2008, the #11 team posted a third-place result at Pocono, marking a second consecutive third-place finish and the fifth time Hamlin has finished in the top-ten through six total starts.   Hamlin’s first Pocono experience was marked by a memorable recovery from a lap-50 cut tire that forced Hamlin to spin the car on purpose before entering the tunnel turn.  Facing substantial damage, the #11 FedEx crew took advantage of the long caution laps to make major repairs on pit road before sending Hamlin to work his way from 40th place all the way to the front to take the checkered flag.  2007 offered some drama also as a rain shortened June race forced the teams to gamble and guess on fuel and, though he might have had the best car, Hamlin wasn't able to race for the lead and finished sixth. In the July 2007 edition Hamlin suffered through some early brake trouble but still managed a third-place finish.


Pocono Chassis – JGR 248 and 225
The #11 team will unload chassis #248, a brand new car from the JGR stable, this weekend at Pocono Raceway.   JGR 225 will serve as a backup this weekend.  This car has one start in 2009 (22nd-place in Las Vegas) and made two appearances last season.


FedEx Express Portland “Along for the Ride" at Pocono
In recognition of the Portland (Ore.) market’s outstanding commitment to safety and superior customer service, the #11 FedEx Express Camry will feature ‘PDX” on the wing caps during the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 this weekend.


Hamlin Conversation – A return to Pocono
Clearly the race here in June was one to forget – were you able to work through anything specific in advance of a return here?
“The mechanical failure took us out of contention right from the start so we worked on making our car better, just as we would have had we been racing for position.  We tried a couple of things beyond what we normally would have, things that maybe were a little more aggressive, but for the most part we ran it like any other race and hoped we could learn something that we could put towards the race this weekend.  We had a good car last time here.  We found some speed in practice and it was shaping up to be a good race for us so to have an issue like that on lap one makes for an extremely frustrating day for everyone on the FedEx team and for everyone in the shop who put long hours into getting those cars ready.”


A tough weekend at Indy broke a string of good results and tightens up the Chase scenario – what does that say about the level of competition
“It’s pretty amazing really, just how tight things are in the Cup Series.  It seems like the guys at the top of the chart have built up a bit of a cushion but from there back it looks like everyone is really going to be in a fight for a place in that Chase.  You can’t ever get too comfortable or too confident.  You never know what is going happen and how it will affect you.  The competition is definitely tight and it shows that there is little room for error.  You need to be good but also really consistent and that’s the balance that gets you into the Chase and gives you a chance at a championship.”