Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Denny Hamlin looking for elusive Dover win

Denny Hamlin is 15/1 to win at Dover sunday morning.
Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:

Race: AAA 400
Date/Time: May 15/1:00 p.m. ET
Distance: 400 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 1 mile
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 24 degrees
2015 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

Express Notes:

Kansas Recap:
Denny Hamlin was involved in a crash with just 26 laps to go in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, causing major damage to the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota and relegating the team to a 37th-place finish in the event won by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch. Hamlin started third, but battled numerous issues on pit road. A problem early on with the left front tire dropped the #11 deep in the running order and Hamlin was forced to the tail end of the field twice during the 267-lap event for pit road speeding penalties. Following the penalties and with the race winding down, Hamlin was mired back in 18th when the caution came out with 32 laps to go. Crew chief Mike Wheeler called Hamlin to pit road for right-side tires only, catapulting the FedEx car to sixth for the restart with 29 laps left. Three laps later, Hamlin attempted to dive to the inside of second place Brad Keselowski, but Keselowski defended the move forcing Hamlin to the middle with Kyle Larson outside. The jockeying for position entering Turn 3 unsettled the air around the cars and both Keselowski and Hamlin spun, making contact with other cars in the process. The finish dropped Hamlin one spot to 13th in the NASCAR standings following Kansas, 117 points behind leader Kevin Harvick after 11 of 26 regular season races.

Dover Preview: The Series heads to Dover International Speedway for Sunday’s 400-mile event on the high-banked concrete oval. Hamlin has three top-five finishes and six top-10 results in 20 career starts at Dover, with a best finish of fourth in 2007 and 2010. He has captured three poles at the track (2012, 2013 and 2015), and has started among the top-three in each of the last three Dover events. Hamlin started on the pole and led 118 laps in the spring race at Dover one year ago.

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Dover International Speedway
Races: 20
Wins: 0
Top-5: 3
Top-10: 6
Average Start: 11.2
Average Finish: 19.2
Laps Led: 261

Hamlin Conversation — DOVER:

How can the FedEx team regain its winning form?

“Our FedEx team has the speed needed each week to compete for race wins, but some mistakes that I have made and other issues have taken us out of contention. Once we clean up some of the mistakes, I think we’ll be back at the front battling for victories. That’s the great part of this new Chase system. We are fortunate to have a win already, so adding wins is all we are focused on at this point. We’ve had some strong runs over the last couple years at Dover, and hopefully this weekend we can be there at the end.”

World Center Marriott Along for the Ride at Dover: The FedEx Office location inside the World Center Marriott in Orlando will be recognized with its “5517” code numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend at Dover.

FedEx Office – Closest to Dover International Speedway: 132 Elkton Road, Newark, DE 19711, (302) 368-5080

DATEEVENTLOCATIONSTARTFINISHLAPSSTATUSLEDPTSTREND
Feb. 21Daytona 500Daytona111200/200Running951st
Feb. 28Folds of Honor 500Atlanta1216328/330Running4th
March 6Kobalt Tools 400Las Vegas919267/267Running108th
March 13Good Sam 500Phoenix33313/313Running6th
March 20Auto Club 400Fontana33205/205Running24th
April 3STP 500Martinsville838221/500Crash9th
April 9Duck Commander 500Texas612334/334Running8th
April 17Food City 500Bristol420500/500Running9th
April 24Toyota Owners 400Richmond56400/400Running18th
May 1GEICO 500Talladega831170/188Running512th
May 7GoBowling.com 400Kansas337240/267Crash13th
Averages/Totals6.517.090.7% 113  


#11 FedEx Racing – 2016 Crew Roster

Crew Chief – Mike “Wheels” Wheeler
Car Chief – Leo Thorsen
Engineers – Matt Beckman, Sam McAuley
Shock Specialist – Drew Bible
Tire Specialist – Kerry Ferris
Mechanics – Troy Welty, John Furino, Sean Kerlin
Spotter – Chris Lambert
Front Tire Changer: Dustin Necaise
Front Tire Carrier: Brandon Pegram
Rear Tire Changer: Mike Hicks
Rear Tire Carrier: Heath Cherry
Jack Man: Nate Bolling
Gas Man: Caleb Hurd
Pit Crew Coordinator: Paul Alepa
Athletic Director: Mike Lepp
Transportation – Frank Hodel, David Ott

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing

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