Denny Hamlin on Sonoma Raceway: "Every mistake is magnified at Sonoma"

Denny Hamlin is 60/1 to win at Sonoma on Sunday

Event: Toyota/Save Mart 350
Date/Time: June 22/12 p.m. PT
2013 winner: Martin Truex Jr.
2012 polesitter: Jamie McMurray
Distance: 110 laps/218.9 miles
Track Length: 1.99 miles
Turns: 12
Track Shape: Road Course

EXPRESS NOTES:

Michigan Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 29th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway, fighting an ill-handling #11 FedEx Express Toyota throughout the 200-lap race won by Jimmie Johnson. Kevin Harvick finished second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard and Kasey Kahne. Hamlin started in 29th and began working his way through the field from the start, moving up to 21st prior to his first green flag pit stop at lap 40. Adjustments made during each pit stop provided more security, and by mid-race, the FedEx crew had moved into the top-20. However, it was short lived, as Hamlin lost the handle and spun in Turn 4 on Lap 122, making slight contact with the outside wall and damaging the right rear bodywork. The FedEx crew made quick repairs during the caution period, but the #11 machine returned to the race two laps down in 32nd. The finish dropped Hamlin four spots to 12th in the NASCAR standings following Michigan, 102 points behind leader Jeff Gordon after 15 of 26 regular season races.

Sonoma Preview: The Series heads to Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway for the first of two road course races on the 2014 NASCAR schedule. Hamlin owns a pair of top-10 finishes in eight previous starts at the 1.99-mile, 12-turn circuit, including a career-best fifth best result in 2009. Hamlin has led 48 laps at Sonoma. One year ago, the #11 FedEx Toyota started 17th and finished 23rd.

FedEx Office – Closest to Sonoma Raceway: 901 East Washington St., Petaluma, CA 94952, (707) 763-6553

Eureka, Calif., Along for the Ride in Sonoma: For the Toyota/Save Mart 350, FedEx Freight recognizes the company’s Eureka, Calif., service center by featuring the call letters “EKA” on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota. The center serves customers in the coastal areas of Northern California and Southern Oregon.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – SONOMA:

What makes Sonoma so challenging for a driver?
“Sonoma is definitely a slower, more technical track than Watkins Glen, which makes it difficult as the first road course race of the year. You really have to focus on hitting your marks and avoiding mistakes to turn good laps. With the elevation changes and tight corners, every mistake is magnified at Sonoma, and there isn’t really any room to get away from other drivers, so you’re bound to get into some contact before the day is over. We have had some pretty decent runs over the years at Sonoma that we don’t have good finishes for, but hopefully we can start near the front on Sunday, hope that our strategy plays out right and keep the car on the asphalt.”

2014 FEDEX RACING TEAM – SEASON RESULTS
DATE	EVENT	LOCATION	START	FINISH	LAPS	STATUS	WINNINGS	LED	PTS	TREND
Feb. 23	Daytona 500	Daytona	4	2	200/200	Running	$1,148,451	16	2nd	▬
March 2	The Profit on CNBC 500	Phoenix	12	19	312/312	Running	$87,480	8th	▼
March 9	Kobalt Tools 400	Las Vegas	27	12	267/267	Running	$121,410	1	8th	▬
March 16	Food City 500	Bristol	1	6	500/500	Running	$116,865	4	7th	▲
March 23	Auto Club 500	Fontana*	13	17	202/202	Running	$107,410	11th	▼
March 30	STP 500	Martinsville	2	19	500/500	Running	$94,475	12th	▼
April 7	Duck Commander 500	Texas	6	13	340/340	Running	$137,770	20	13th	▼
April 12	Bojangles’ Southern 500	Darlington	10	19	374/374	Running	$101,905	3	15th	▼
April 26	Toyota Owners 400	Richmond	28	22	400/400	Running	$88.890	14th	▲
May 4	Aaron’s 499	Talladega	35	1	188/188	Running	$303,315	12	12th	▲
May 10	5-Hour Energy 400	Kansas	30	18	266/267	Running	$94,765	12th	▬
May 25	Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte	6	22	398/400	Running	$112,985	14th	▼
June 1	FedEx 400	Dover	7	5	400/400	Running	$136,880	9th	▲
June 8	Pocono 400	Pocono	1	4	160/160	Running	$137,500	4	8th	▲
June 15	Quicken Loans 400	Michigan	29	29	198/200	Running	$92,640		12th	▼
Averages/Totals			12.9	12.5	99.9%		$2,682,691	60

* Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing