Denny Hamlin's team picking up speed at right time as Chase starts

Denny Hamlin is 15/1 to win this week at Chicago

Event: Geico 400
Date/Time: Sept. 14/2 p.m. ET
2013 winner: Matt Kenseth
2013 polesitter: Ryan Newman
Distance: 267 laps/400.5 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Banking: 14 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Richmond Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 21st in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway, battling an ill-handling #11 FedEx Express Toyota throughout the 400-lap event on the three-quarter-mile track won by Brad Keselowski. Hamlin, a two-time Richmond winner, started 11th and quickly worked into the top-10 on his hometown track. He pitted from seventh under the Lap 50 competition caution, and remained near the front of the field throughout the second run. However, following his second pit stop of the night under caution, Hamlin said the handling went away on the #11 machine, and he slid back to 15th, falling a lap down to Keselowski in the process. He remained in position for the “free pass” after a series of green flag stops, but the caution never came. As the laps clicked, Hamlin continued to battle a loose condition on corner entry and exit, and interim crew chief Mike Wheeler called him to pit road to “short pit” with 90 laps remaining, hoping to have the race go green the distance to make up time on the leaders. Unfortunately, the yellow came out 17 laps later, trapping Hamlin two laps down and relegating the FedEx team to a 21st-place result.

Hamlin in the Chase: Hamlin is making his eighth appearance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in 2014. He made seven-straight Chase fields to start his career (2006-2012) before missing the playoffs in 2013 due to a back injury. Hamlin has won at seven of 10 Chase tracks, including New Hampshire (2), Kansas, Talladega, Martinsville (4), Texas (2), Phoenix and Homestead (2). His best-career Chase finish was second in 2010. Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing Team enter the Chase this season in ninth-place with 2,003 points.

Chicago Preview: The Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway for the first race of the 2014 Chase. Hamlin is making his eighth-career start at the 1.5-mile track. Hamlin finished a career-best fifth at the track in 2009 and has two top-10 results in seven starts. Hamlin will also compete in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race alongside Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch — who are also in the Chase — to help prepare for Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series event.

FedEx Office – Closest to Chicagoland Speedway: 2199 State Rte 59, Plainfield, IL 60586, (815) 439-8490

South Texas Along for the Ride in Chicago: The FedEx Office sales team in South Texas is leading the Sales pack of the company’s President’s Club program, and will be recognized with its “7390” code numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – CHICAGOLAND:

The FedEx Team is back in the Chase. How would you describe the team’s chances heading into the playoffs?
“Obviously, our performance lately has been pretty consistent, but I believe that we still need a little bit more speed to really contend for the title. The new format, I think, sets up pretty well for our FedEx team. We have proven over the years that we can win at most of the Chase tracks, and with points resetting after each segment, we just need to survive and advance. Hopefully we have some cars prepared that can go out and run up front to challenge for wins. If we can stay consistent and take care of business in the first two segments, I think we have a pretty good shot. The last four races are at really good tracks for us. I’m excited to be back in the Chase.”

 

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	▼
June 22	Toyota/Save Mart 350	Sonoma	16	26	110/110	Running	$97,035		13th	▼
June 28	Quaker State 400	Kentucky	4	42	27/267	Accident	$71,580		17th	▼
July 6	Coke Zero 400	Daytona	37	6	112/112	Running	$135,370		14th	▲
July 13	Camping World RV Sales 301	Loudon	3	8	305/305	Running	$109,565	20	12th	▲
July 27	The John Wayne Walding 400	Indianapolis	27	3	160/160	Running	$307,890	18	21st**	▼
Aug. 3	GoBowling.com 400	Pocono	13	9	160/160	Running	$96,965		21st	▬
Aug. 10	Cheez-It 355	Watkins Glen	17	24	90/90	Running	$84,015		20th	▲
Aug. 17	Pure Michigan 400	Michigan	21	7	200/200	Running	$108,940		20th	▬
Aug. 23	Irwin Tools Night Race	Bristol	13	40	160/500	Accident	$96,565	28	20th	▬
Aug. 31	Oral-B USA 500	Atlanta	17	3	335/335	Running	$182,705	37	19th	▲
Sept. 6	Federated Auto Parts 400	Richmond	11	21	398/400	Running	$89,615		9th	▲
Averages/Totals			15.0	15.2	91.8%		$4,155,576	163

* Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.

** Penalized 75 points following post-race inspection

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing