Denny Hamlin - Gateway Pre-Race Notes and Quotes

EVENT: BUSCH SILVER CELEBRATION 250 DATE: JULY 29, 2006
TRACK: GATEWAY INT. RACEWAY TV: TNT 8:00 PM ET
LAPS/MILES: 200 / 250 RADIO: MRN 8:00 PM ET

QUOTES

Driver Denny Hamlin on racing in the Busch Silver Celebration 250…

“It is amazing that Anheuser-Busch has sponsored the Busch Series for 25 years. All my life, the Series and Busch have gone hand in hand. Many people consider the Busch Series “the AAA league” of NASCAR, but it is as hard to win a race in the Busch Series as it is in the Cup Series, sometimes even harder. In the Cup series you have a lot of pitstops and a lot miles to get your car handling right and to the front. In the Busch Series, you only have a couple stops and there is a real sense of urgency to get to the front. With Anheuser-Busch sponsoring this race, this series and this race being in their backyard, Saturday’s race instantly became one of the more prestigious races of the year. Only one driver will have the chance to win the Busch 25 th Anniversary Race so you will see teams putting a little more pressure on themselves and maybe taking some chances they normally wouldn’t.

I really like this track. Last year, I quickly learned the unique layout and had a great car. We over adjusted on it a little bit at the end of the race but we were trying hard to win my first race. This is one of those tracks that challenges the driver each lap.”

Crew Chief Dave Rogers on his first visit to Gateway Int. Raceway….

“At the beginning of the season, I was really concerned about coming to tracks that I had not seen. But now, I have really enjoyed the trips to Kentucky & Milwaukee and I am looking forward to Gateway. You don’t have perceived conceptions going into it. You just depend on the driver to give you feedback and then make your decisions from there. Sometimes when the notebook is too big, you try things that have worked in the past but they don’t seem to respond the same on this year’s car. Without the notebook, you get the fresh start.”

NOTES

Lap Leader …Hamlin has made it a habit of taking his car to the front this season. In nine races, Hamlin has led in eight different races. Of those five races, Hamlin has led the most laps in two of those races (Mexico City & Nashville). Of the races that Hamlin has led one lap, he has gone on to finish on the lead lap & score a top ten finish in each race (avg. finish – 4). Of the races that Hamlin has led the most laps of the race, he has gone on to score a top five finish in both races (1 st & 3rd).

Car History … This week the #20 team is bringing car #2043. This is Denny Hamlin’s favorite car. Most recently run at New Hampshire, Hamlin qualified third and finish third. This car ran at the Milwaukee Mile, where Aric Almirola drove this car to the pole position and then turned the seat over to Hamlin where Hamlin led 61 laps before finishing 2 nd. This car also ran at Richmond where Hamlin finished 10th . Last year, he drove it to his best finish at New Hampshire (3rd ), his best starting position at Phoenix (2nd ) and four top-ten finishes (Phoenix, Memphis, Indy and Milwaukee).