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| Denny Hamlin has never won at Fontana. |
#11 FedEx Office Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing
Race Info:
Race: Auto Club 400
Date/Time: March 1/3:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 200 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 2 miles
Track Shape: D-shaped oval
Banking: 14 degrees
2018 Winner: Kyle Busch
Express Notes:
Las Vegas Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 17th in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, unable to overcome an ill-handling #11 FedEx Ground Toyota in the race won by Joey Logano. Hamlin lined up fourth on the grid, but had to drop to the back of the field after the team was penalized for a technical inspection violation. At the drop of the green flag, Hamlin began reporting that the car was extremely loose, and he felt like he was driving on ice. As the race progressed, the FedEx crew made significant adjustments to the chassis during each pit stop, but Hamlin continued to struggle with the handling. Despite best efforts from Denny and crew, the FedEx11 team sat in 17th place as Logano took the checkered flag.
Fontana Preview: Continuing on the West Coast swing, the series heads to Fontana, Calif., for Sunday’s 400-mile race at Auto Club Speedway. After 18 career starts at the Southern California track, Hamlin has recorded two top-five finishes, seven top-10 finishes and three pole positions, as well as a career-best finish of third (2008 and 2016). Following a disappointing performance in Las Vegas, Hamlin and team will be looking for Hamlin’s second win of 2020, thus moving forward in the standings, where Hamlin currently ranks ninth two races into the season. The #11 FedEx Toyota will promote the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest on the TV panel of the car for this weekend’s race in Las Vegas. The reminder encourages small business owners to apply for a collective prize pool of more than $250,000 by the entry deadline of March 2nd at www.fedex.com/grantcontest.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Auto Club Speedway
Races: 18
Wins: 0
Poles: 3
Top-5: 2
Top-10: 7
Laps Led: 147
Avg. Start: 11.2
Avg. Finish 16.9
Hamlin Conversation – Fontana:
What are you most focused on moving forward as the series heads to Fontana this weekend?
“We just need to get back on track. We obviously started off the season with a bang in Daytona, and then had a little hiccup in Las Vegas. We know what we need to do to win, and we’re focused on the next race. Hopefully we’ll be able to get back up front at Fontana.”
How do you bounce back after a disappointing effort in Las Vegas this past weekend?
“It was just a tough day all the way around for our FedEx team. We just didn’t have a good handle on the car throughout the entire race. We finally worked our way up into the top 15, and the pit road speeding penalty killed our chances of any kind of decent finish. We just need to regroup and get the car ready to go for next weekend.”
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