Denny Hamlin goes for third Texas win

Denny Hamlin is 15/1 to win Saturday at Texas.

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Duck Commander 500
Date/Time: April 9/6:30 p.m. CT
Distance: 334 laps/501 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Track Shape: Quad-oval
Banking: 24 degrees
2015 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

Express Notes:

Martinsville Recap: Denny Hamlin spun and hit the wall on Lap 220 of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, causing extensive damage to the #11 FedEx Express Toyota and relegating the team to a 39th-place finish in the event won by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch. Hamlin overcame an early-race pit road speeding penalty to drive from the tail end of the field up into the top-five nearing the halfway mark. Shortly after passing Brian Vickers for fifth-place and chasing down Jimmie Johnson, Hamlin lost control in Turn 1 and backed into the outside retaining wall. Hamlin started eighth and ran among the top-10 throughout the early going. During the team’s first pit stop near Lap 100, Hamlin was caught speeding leaving pit road, and forced to restart at the back of the pack. He quickly worked through traffic to move back into contention before the spin. The finish dropped Hamlin five spots to ninth in the NASCAR standings following Martinsville, 48 points behind leader Kevin Harvick after six of 36 regular season races.

Texas Preview: The Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s 500-mile race on the fast, 1.5-mile Fort Worth oval, with Hamlin driving the #11 FedEx Office Toyota. Hamlin is a two-time Texas winner, sweeping both races at the track during his eight-win 2010 campaign. He owns 10 top-10 finishes in 20 career races at Texas, and has led 154 laps at the track. He finished 11th in this race one year ago.

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Races: 20
Wins: 2
Top-5: 5
Top-10: 10
Average Start: 16.1
Average Finish: 12.2
Laps Led: 154

Hamlin Conversation — TEXAS:

Where does the team’s intermediate track program stack up heading into Texas this weekend?
“We have been a little up and down on the bigger tracks to start this season, but I think we have found some speed in the #11 FedEx Toyota. Texas is a big, fast track and racing under the lights will mean a lot of grip and the drivers asking for a lot of horsepower. It’s a long race, but we have to make sure we minimize mistakes to keep our track position for the end.”

Southern California Sales Team Along for the Ride in Texas: The FedEx Office sales team in southern California, a leading team in the company’s President’s Club program, will be recognized with its “7387” code numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend at Texas.

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

DATE	EVENT	LOCATION	START	FINISH	LAPS	STATUS	LED	PTS	TREND
Feb. 21	Daytona 500	Daytona	11	1	200/200	Running	95	1st	▬
Feb. 28	Folds of Honor 500	Atlanta	12	16	328/330	Running		4th	▼
March 6	Kobalt Tools 400	Las Vegas	9	19	267/267	Running	10	8th	▼
March 13	Good Sam 500	Phoenix	3	3	313/313	Running		6th	▲
March 20	Auto Club 400	Fontana	3	3	205/205	Running	2	4th	▲
April 3	STP 500	Martinsville	8	39	221/500	Crash		9th	▼
Averages/Totals			7.7	13.5	84.5%		107

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing