Hamlin, FedEx Racing Rout Field in Richmond – Chase Championship
With Chase qualification secured a week earlier, Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team headed to Richmond with a singular focus: Win a race that means a great deal to Hamlin, the Chesterfield (Va.) native who grew up watching races at RIR, win a race that eluded the team on previous occasions, and win a race that would give them an addition win bonus to help kickstart their 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup effort.  The team accomplished all three goals as Hamlin put on a dominating display, leading 299 of 400 laps to record his first Cup win at his hometown track.  A flawless drive by Hamlin – supported by a perfect driver rating of 150.0 – was met stride for stride by the #11 team who made smart changes all day, and consistently had Hamlin out of the box quickly.  The win sees Hamlin claim the fourth spot in the Chase seeding, tied with Jimmie Johnson twenty points behind leader Mark Martin.


Hamlin at New Hampshire
This weekend will mark Hamlin's eighth career Cup start at New Hampshire and 142nd career Cup start.  New Hampshire has been a good track for the #11 team as they have only finished outside of the top ten once in six previous tries.  Earlier this season, fighting handling issues all-race long before rain ended last Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 after 273 laps with the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota running 15th.  A year ago Hamlin showed he had a car capable of winning on the one-mile track but, as is often the case at New Hampshire, fuel mileage dictated the team's strategy and they were forced to sacrifice track position for fuel.  Hamlin fought his way back into the top-ten and scored a well-deserved ninth-place finish.   Hamlin settled for an eighth-place finish when rain shortened the June 2008 race to 284 laps, and he finished 15th in September of 2007 when he fought handling issues throughout the 2007 Chase kick-off. In the July race at Loudon in 2007 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.  He then held off a late challenge from Jeff Gordon to take the win by the slim margin of .0068 seconds.  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 Chassis – JGR 256 and 253
The team will unload JGR 246, a brand new car from the JGR stable, this weekend in New Hampshire. JGR 253 has one start this season, a tenth place finish at Michigan in August.


KCY “Along for the Ride” at New Hampshire
FedEx Freight Service Center KCY, located in Kansas City, KS, will be featured on the wing caps of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. KCY is being recognized for their efforts and results in the Everyone Sells program and other revenue generating programs. Congratulations KCY!


Hamlin conversation – Chasing Again


A memorable night in Richmond and now the start of your fourth consecutive Chase – this season appears to be shaping up nicely for the #11 team.
“Richmond was really special for us.  We had to decide, do we take our best there and go all out for the win – or do we save it for Chase.  It seems like it could be a hard decision but It was an easy decision for us really.  We just laid out a plan for how to win that race and we executed it perfectly. We felt like we could go and win this race and that would really help us in terms of momentum and confidence.  It also helped to get the bonus points for the Chase so that made it that much better. It was an awesome night for this team and it was, obviously, very special for me being from Chesterfield and wanting this race more than any other.  Now, we look ahead to the Chase and we are going to be a factor.  We are a very good team right now with potential to get even better and that’s where you want to be when the Chase starts – good and getting better.”


You are on the record saying that New Hampshire is much trickier than it gets credit for and is potentially a major wildcard track in the Chase.
“It’s true – and it’s true for a couple of reasons.  This is a tough place to race and a tough place to get your car working well, and if it’s not working well, New Hampshire is an impossible place to race.  We’ve been on both sides of that here.  Then, as the first race in the Chase, this race can either serve as a launching pad or an anchor.  We know we need to run well at Loudon and at Dover to set us up for a strong Chase.  It’s hard to get back into the points race after bad finishes so we’re clear on what we need to do.”