Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Denny Hamlin hopes for some home cooking at Richmond

Denny Hamlin is 12/1 this week at Richmond
Event: Federated Auto Parts 400
Date/Time: Sept. 6/7:30 p.m. ET
2013 winner: Carl Edwards
2013 polesitter: Jeff Gordon
Distance: 400 laps/300 miles
Track Length: 0.750-mile
Banking: 14 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Atlanta Recap:
Denny Hamlin finished third in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, crossing the finish line behind winner Kasey Kahne and teammate Matt Kenseth after the second ‘green-white-checkered’ attempt at the 1.5-mile oval in the #11 SportClips Toyota. Hamlin started 17th and quickly worked his way into the top-10 on the slick, worn out Atlanta surface. Lightning fast pit stops throughout the night kept the #11 team in the top-five for the majority of the event, with Hamlin leading six times for a total of 37 laps during the race. After a pair of late-race cautions, Hamlin lined up second for the final restart, but was unable to carry his momentum into Turn 1 in the high line, as Kahne split Hamlin and Kenseth through the corner to capture the lead. The third-place result was Hamlin’s sixth top-10 finish in the last eight races.

Richmond Preview: The Series heads to Richmond International Raceway for Saturday night’s 400-lap event on the three-quarter-mile oval, and the final regular season race of the 2014 campaign for Hamlin in the #11 FedEx Express Toyota. Hamlin, from nearby Chesterfield, Va., is a two-time Cup winner at the track, capturing the checkered flag in back-to-back September races at Richmond in 2009 and 2010. Hamlin’s 112.5 driver rating at Richmond is the best among active drivers at the track, where he has led 1,390 of 6,410 laps (21.6%) in his career. Earlier this season, Hamlin finished 22nd at the track after contact with less than 10 laps to go.

FedEx Office – Closest to Richmond International Raceway: 1111 E. Main St., Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 783-9880

Ontario, Calif., Along for the Ride in Richmond: The FedEx Express ramp in Ontario, Calif., will be recognized for outstanding safety performance with its “ONTR” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend at Richmond International Raceway.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – RICHMOND:

What is your mindset heading into the final regular season race at Richmond?

“I think our FedEx team has shown over the past couple months a lot of improvement at a variety of different tracks, and we are close to hitting our stride right when the Chase is about to start. Obviously, Richmond is one of my favorite tracks to race at, and one that we have had success on in the past, but we didn’t run all that well there the last couple times. I think our short track program has come a long way, and hopefully we run up front on Saturday night. We’ll be pulling out all the stops to try to win the race and get three more points heading into the Chase. The competition is so tough and every point will matter once the Chase begins.”
          2014 FEDEX RACING TEAM – SEASON RESULTS
DATEEVENTLOCATIONSTARTFINISHLAPSSTATUSWINNINGSLEDPTSTREND
Feb. 23Daytona 500Daytona42200/200Running$1,148,451162nd▬
March 2The Profit on CNBC 500Phoenix1219312/312Running$87,4808th▼
March 9Kobalt Tools 400Las Vegas2712267/267Running$121,41018th▬
March 16Food City 500Bristol16500/500Running$116,86547th▲
March 23Auto Club 500Fontana*1317202/202Running$107,41011th▼
March 30STP 500Martinsville219500/500Running$94,47512th▼
April 7Duck Commander 500Texas613340/340Running$137,7702013th▼
April 12Bojangles’ Southern 500Darlington1019374/374Running$101,905315th▼
April 26Toyota Owners 400Richmond2822400/400Running$88.89014th▲
May 4Aaron’s 499Talladega351188/188Running$303,3151212th▲
May 105-Hour Energy 400Kansas3018266/267Running$94,76512th▬
May 25Coca-Cola 600Charlotte622398/400Running$112,98514th▼
June 1FedEx 400Dover75400/400Running$136,8809th▲
June 8Pocono 400Pocono14160/160Running$137,50048th▲
June 15Quicken Loans 400Michigan2929198/200Running$92,64012th▼
June 22Toyota/Save Mart 350Sonoma1626110/110Running$97,03513th▼
June 28Quaker State 400Kentucky44227/267Accident$71,58017th▼
July 6Coke Zero 400Daytona376112/112Running$135,37014th▲
July 13Camping World RV Sales 301Loudon38305/305Running$109,5652012th▲
July 27The John Wayne Walding 400Indianapolis273160/160Running$307,8901821st**▼
Aug. 3GoBowling.com 400Pocono139160/160Running$96,96521st▬
Aug. 10Cheez-It 355Watkins Glen172490/90Running$84,01520th▲
Aug. 17Pure Michigan 400Michigan217200/200Running$108,94020th▬
Aug. 23Irwin Tools Night RaceBristol1340160/500Accident$96,5652820th▬
Aug. 31Oral-B USA 500Atlanta173335/335Running$182,7053719th▲
Averages/Totals15.215.091.3%$4,065,961163
* Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.
** Penalized 75 points following post-race inspection

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing

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