Thursday, October 30, 2014

Denny Hamlin looking for a top-5 finish at Texas

Denny Hamlin is 12/1 to win at Texas
RACE INFO:
Event: AAA Texas 500
Date/Time: Nov. 2/2:00 p.m. CT
2013 winner: Jimmie Johnson
2013 polesitter: Carl Edwards
Distance: 334 laps/501 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Banking: 24 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Martinsville Recap:
Denny Hamlin finished eighth in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota, leading 68 laps in the first event of the Eliminator Round of the Chase en route to his 14th top-10 finish in 18 career starts at the half-mile track. Hamlin pitted for right-side tires under the race’s final caution with six laps remaining, but was forced to restart sixth in the outside groove, losing a pair of spots in the final laps. A four-time Martinsville winner, Hamlin again showed his prowess at the flat ‘paper clip,’ posting a race-best 4.9 average running position in the event won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. The finish placed Hamlin fifth in the Chase standings following Martinsville, just seven markers behind leader Jeff Gordon with two races remaining in the third playoff segment.

Texas Preview: The Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 334-lap event at the fast 1.5-mile Fort Worth facility. Hamlin is a two-time Texas winner, sweeping a pair of races at the track in 2010. In 17 career races at Texas, Hamlin has posted eight top-10 finishes and has led 151 laps. Earlier this year, Hamlin started sixth and led 20 laps before a mid-race pit road speeding penalty and late-race miscue on pit road, where Hamlin slid through the box during the final stop, relegated the FedEx team to a 13th-place finish.

FedEx Office – Closest to Texas Motor Speedway: 8509 Davis Blvd., North Richland Hills, TX 76180, (817) 281-9014

Palmdale, Calif., Along for the Ride at Texas: The FedEx Office location in Palmdale, Calif., a leading store in the company’s President’s Club program, will be recognized with its “0351” code numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – TEXAS:

What are your goals for the FedEx Team at Texas?

“Obviously, it would be great to get another win at Texas this weekend. Although it’s a fast, intermediate track that has been a weakness of our team this year, Texas has good tire fall off and really plays into the hands of drivers that have a good handling car over the course of long runs. Earlier this year, when I felt like we didn’t have the speed to compete with some of the top cars, we drove up and led laps at Texas, but didn’t get the finish to show for it. We need another solid day with no mistakes to put ourselves in position to advance to the final four. Certainly, our hope was to get a better result at Martinsville last Sunday, but we’re still in the thick of things. This segment of the Chase will require top-five finishes and hopefully we can achieve that this weekend.”

          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
Sept. 6Federated Auto Parts 400Richmond1121398/400Running$89,6159th
2014 CHASE FOR THE SPRINT CUP
Sept. 14MyAFibstory.com 400Chicagoland246267/267Running$131,0456th
Sept. 21Sylvania 300New Hampshire437265/303Running$87,2173213th
Sept. 28AAA 400Dover312400/400Running$96,540T-1st
Oct. 5Hollywood Casino 400Kansas257267/267Running$126,4705th
Oct. 11Bank of America 500Charlotte39334/334Running$106,640227th
Oct. 19GEICO 500Talladega3818194/194Running$96,5361T-1st
Oct. 26Goody’s 500Martinsville58500/500Running$97,140685th
Averages/Totals14.914.993.4% $4,897,164286  
* Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.
** Penalized 75 points following post-race inspection

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing

No comments: