Denny Hamlin - Express Facts Martinsville

RACE INFO:
Event: Subway 500
Date/Time: Oct. 22, 2006 /12:30 p.m. ET
Track: Martinsville Speedway
Length: .526 Mile
Shape: Oval
Distance: 500 laps/500 miles
Banking: 12 degrees
2005 winner: Jeff Gordon
2005 polesitter: Tony Stewart

EXPRESS NOTES:
Tough Night in Charlotte Drops Hamlin, FedEx Team to Sixth in the Chase: With expectations high for a good run in Charlotte, the lap one wreck that collected Hamlin and the #11 team was an unexpected and unwelcome surprise. However the effort by the #11 team to get the car back on the track to earn a 28th-place finish will lessen the frustration as the team looks ahead to Martinsville and the final five races of the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Hamlin at Martinsville Speedway: The Subway 500 will be Hamlin’s third start at Martinsville Speedway in a NASCAR Nextel Cup car. He made his debut at the half-mile in October of 2005, scoring an eighth-place finish in only his third career Cup start. In his last start at the half-mile track, Hamlin bobbled in qualifying, then found trouble on lap 307 to record his only DNF of the season. Hamlin’s history at Martinsville dates back to his late model career and competing in the annual “Taco Bell 300” and “Bailey’s 300” on five occasions from 2000-2004. Hamlin won the pole for the race in 2003 and recorded finishes of 15th, 12th, 7th, 10th and 3rd, respectively.

Martinsville Chassis JGR 105/133: This car has been the best short track car in the #11 stable. Most recently, Hamlin drove this car to a fourth place finish at New Hampshire in the opening race of the Chase. Prior to that, Hamlin won the pole and led 19 laps from the green at Richmond before a burned sparkplug wire forced Hamlin to complete the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 on seven cylinders. This car posted a sixth-place finish at New Hampshire in July and finished second at Richmond in May after qualifying seventh.

Hamlin on Martinsville: “Martinsville is like no place else. It a challenging place to pass so you have to set your car up to be able to roll through the center and be back on throttle as early as possible. You’re forced to really work on guys to pass them and I think that’s something drivers really like about the track. It’s a fine balance here, you try to conserve your equipment but you have to drive pretty aggressively and you are packed in with 42 other cars so beating and banging is part of the deal.”

Hamlin Back in the Truck at Martinsville: Hamlin will make his sixth career Craftsman Truck Series start this weekend at Martinsville when he takes the wheel of the #46 Chevrolet Silverado. Hamlin last participated in a CTS race in October of 2004, when he scored a tenth-place finish at Texas.

2006 Points: Hamlin’s 28th -place finish at Charlotte dropped him to sixth in the points standings and widened the gap to leader Jeff Burton. The rookie currently trails leader Jeff Burton by 137 points. Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits in fifth place, 31points ahead of Hamlin and Mark Martin is 35 points ahead in fourth.

2006 Rookie Race: With five races to go, Hamlin holds a 44 point lead (266-222) over Clint Bowyer in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings. Hamlin has been the Rookie of the Race award winner on 14 occasions this season.

Hamlin on the Chase – Focused on the Big Picture: “I thought maybe the bad luck at Kansas and Talladega would be it for us so I’ll hope that now, with what happened in Charlotte, that it truly is. Like any driver out here, I hate not being able to control where we finish but that’s part of racing. We took a pretty good hit in Charlotte but it could have been much worse. The guys did a great job making the repairs and getting me back out there and we managed to make up a good amount of points. One thing that this Chase has shown is that every single point will matter. It’s still pretty tight and even though the gap to the front is getting a little bigger, we’re still right there with a lot of these guys. We won’t give up, I can guarantee that.”

FedEx Freight Car at Martinsville: Hamlin’s #11 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS will sport the FedEx Freight colors for the fifth time this season at Martinsville. Throughout the season, Hamlin and FedEx Racing will feature schemes representing four of the FedEx operating companies; FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Kinko’s.