Denny Hamlin - Express Notes for Homestead

RACE INFO:
Date: November 19, 2005
Event: Ford 400
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Shape: Oval
Length: 1.5 miles
Distance: 267 laps/400.5 miles
Banking: 20 degrees
2005 winner: Greg Biffle
2005 polesitter: Carl Edwards

EXPRESS NOTES:
Express Notes: With one race to go, Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx team are still in the Chase, but will need a lot of help to leave Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Championship. Last week Hamlin was hurt by an early draw that saw him qualify 22nd but turned in an impressive drive to claim third place. It was his seventh-top five finish of the season and his 17th Raybestos Rookie of the Race award.

Hamlin at Homestead-Miami Speedway The Ford 400 will mark Hamlin’s second start at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a NASCAR Nextel Cup car. Hamlin made his debut at Homestead last November in only his seventh NNCS race and, despite a qualifying wreck that forced the #11 to the backup car and to the back of the field for the start, finished well enough to secure a place in the top-35 heading to Daytona in 2006. What a difference a year makes as Hamlin and team are back at Homestead for a second try, this time sitting 90 points behind Jimmie Johnson in the Championship standings.

Mr. Consistency: Hamlin’s consistency has been a key to his success during his rookie season, and that consistency is supported by his average starting and finishing positions. Through 35 races, Hamlin’s average starting position is 12.8. His average finishing position is also 12.8.

Phoenix Chassis JGR 121 & 115: The #11 FedEx Team will unload car JGR 121 at Homestead this weekend. This car built its reputation by twice dominating the field at Pocono Raceway, leading 234 of a possible 400 laps, to give Hamlin his two career Cup wins. Most recently, Hamlin drove this car to sixth-place finish at Texas after qualifying tenth. Prior to that, Hamlin drove this car to an 18th-place finish at Kansas and to top-ten finishes at Indy, California, Las Vegas and Darlington. In its last two starts, back up car JGR 115 registered top ten finishes at Bristol (6th) and Atlanta (8th)

Hamlin on Homestead: “This is a track where I haven’t found that comfort yet. I had a rough go of it here last fall but I feel like I have learned a lot as a driver, both about the cars and about the track so I fully expect to be better this time around.”

Hamlin on the Chase – One Race To Go: “Looking back at the first nine races of the Chase we have been pretty good. With the exception of some bad luck at Kansas and Charlotte we are running top-ten almost every week and scored three top-fives even. Again, it just goes to show that everyone is stepping it up and bringing their best every week and then working through bad luck. It’s incredibly competitive out there but that’s what we live for – to run against the best and to win a championship.”

On the 2006 Season: “We’ve definitely exceeded our initial expectations but at the same time what we have achieved has given us the confidence to keep pushing and become a championship caliber team now. It seemed like everyone was just waiting for us to fall back, whether before the Chase or during it, and show our rookie stripes but we’ve kept plugging away and have a lot to show for our efforts.”

Highlights of the 2006 Season: “There have been a few that I will never forget. Winning the Bud Shootout set the tone for the whole season and gave this FedEx team a huge lift. Of course the Pocono races were highlights because it was a total team performance and we just had unbelievable cars. Then going to Richmond with the Chase on the line, winning the pole in front of my hometown fans and getting to celebrate making the Chase with them. All of them were highlights and it adds up to quite a season for this whole FedEx Racing team.”

2006 Points: Hamlin’s third-place finish at Phoenix keeps the FedEx Racing team alive in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings heading to the final race. He trails leader Jimmie Johnson by 90 points and second-place driver Matt Kenseth by 27.

2006 Rookie Race: With one race to remaining, Hamlin maintains his lead over Clint Bowyer in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings. Hamlin has been the Raybestos Rookie of the Race award winner on 17 occasions this season.