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| Denny Hamlin is 15/1 to win this week at Las Vegas (William Hill). |
#11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube
Date/Time: March 4/3:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 267 laps/400.5 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Track Shape: Tri-Oval
Banking: 20 degrees
2017 Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Express Notes:
Press Kit: Download the 2018 FedEx Racing press materials at www.fedexracing.com/presskit, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Mike Wheeler and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights and statistics.
Atlanta Recap: Denny Hamlin finished fourth in Sunday’s 500-mile Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, claiming his second top-five of the season in the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota as a result of a calculated pit strategy championed by Crew Chief Mike Wheeler. The top-five competitors visited pit road on lap 213 for their first green-flag pit stops of Stage 3, while Hamlin stayed out and assumed the race lead. He elected to make his scheduled green-flag stop 12 laps later on lap 225, capitalizing on four fresh tires to improve his overall speed over the competition. Hamlin continued to execute the strategy, making his final green-flag, four-tire pit stop of the race on lap 274. The strategy paid dividends, and Hamlin moved into second behind leader Kevin Harvick, however a caution on lap 298 gave the entire field an opportunity to pit together. After receiving four tires and fuel, Hamlin lined up third for the final restart with 22 laps remaining, making his way to fourth as the checkered waved. Hamlin started Sunday’s rain-delayed event from the 12th-place spot and worked diligently to improve his track positon during the race’s first 85-lap Stage, finishing ninth and picking up two Championship points when the first green-checkered flew. He went on to collect an additional five Championship points for a sixth-place result at the conclusion of Stage 2. Hamlin’s finish moves him to third in the overall points standings behind leader Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney.
Las Vegas Preview: NASCAR’s ‘West Coast Swing’ begins this weekend as the Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 400-mile event. Hamlin remains winless at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, but he has earned himself two top-five and six top-10 finishes in his past 12 starts, including the sixth-place finish he collected during last year’s visit to Vegas.
Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares: This season, FedEx is tying the performance of the #11 FedEx Toyota on the track to its efforts to improve road safety through a new program, Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares, by donating $111 for each lap Hamlin leads and $11,000 for each race victory to Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit working to protect kids on the road, at home and at play. FedEx will also contribute $111,000 to Safe Kids if the #11 team wins the 2018 NASCAR championship. New for the 2018 season, the Denny Hamlin Foundation will also match the total donation to Safe Kids Worldwide.
Hamlin led 26 laps during Sunday’s race at Atlanta, triggering a $2,886 donation to Safe Kids on behalf of FedEx. Fans can track the total amount donated to date from the Delivering Laps for FedEx Cares program on the homepage of FedExRacing.com.
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