Denny Hamlin Express Notes - Atlanta

RACE INFO:
Event: Atlanta 500
Date/Time: October 28, 2007 / 2:00 p.m. E.T.
Length: 1.54 miles
Shape: Quad-Oval
Banking: 24 degrees
Distance: 325 laps/500.5 miles
2006 winner: Tony Stewart
2006 polesitter: Matt Kenseth

EXPRESS NOTES:
Hamlin Fights Hard for Sixth at Martinsville: Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team endured a frustrating day losing track position in the pits to finish sixth at Martinsville. It was Hamlin’s 17th top-ten finish of the 2007 season and second in the 2007 Chase. Hamlin started from the 30th spot and was able to pass more cars than any other car on the track at Martinsville. But, despite having a very good car, a few slow pit stops and lack of track position when it mattered hampered Hamlin’s efforts. Having four top-10’s in five NNCS starts at Martinsville, Hamlin admits he knows his way around the track pretty well, but having to make up the same positions he gained on the track after leaving the pits made Sunday a struggle. The sixth-place finish moves Hamlin up one spot to eighth in the Chase standings, five points behind Kevin Harvick for seventh and 374 points behind leader Jeff Gordon.

Hamlin at Atlanta Motor Speedway: This will be Hamlin’s fifth start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in a NASCAR Nextel Cup car. In the spring race earlier this season, Hamlin battled an ill-handling car during long runs and finished 19th. In the spring event in 2006 at AMS, Hamlin had the fastest car early in the race and led four times for 16 laps before his handling began to fade away and a loose wheel ultimately caused him to finish 31st. Hamlin secured his best finish at AMS during the 2006 Chase last October, bringing home an eighth-place finish. His first Cup experience at Atlanta came on Oct. 30, 2005 in only his fourth career Cup start when he started 25th and finished 19th.

Atlanta Chassis JGR 187 and JGR 183: The #11 FedEx team will unload Chevy Monte Carlo chassis JGR 187 as its primary car this weekend. JGR 187 is a new car and will be making its NNCS debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway. JGR 183 will be relegated to the back-up role this weekend. It was the primary car at Michigan and Chicagoland early this season where Hamlin recorded 14th and 17th-place finishes respectively.

Quotes:

Hamlin on Atlanta Motor Speedway: “Handling seems to be the biggest issue we struggle with at Atlanta. It’s such a fast track and has a reputation for changing drastically over the course of the race; as a result you end up battling your car while trying to beat 42 other cars. As always, we’ll have to respond the best we can to the changing conditions, and hopefully our adjustments will give us a good car when we need it at the end. ”

“I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable running here, which comes with experience and track time, but I’m not yet one of those drivers who really gets excited about this track. Those are the guys that have been doing this longer than I have and know the different ways to use what this track gives them to move their car around on different lines throughout the race. We had a solid run in the fall race here last year…we’ll be looking to build on that this weekend.”

Hamlin on being eighth in points with four races remaining in Chase: “It’s no secret our chances for a championship diminished after a tough string of finishes at Dover (38th), Kansas (29th) and Charlotte (20th). Like I said before the Chase started, you have to consistently post top-five and top-ten finishes, and have some luck along the way if you want to have a chance. We haven’t been able to do that. Last week at Martinsville was a prime example where we had a car that should have finished in the top-five but we couldn’t find a way to make it work. With that said, we are now focused on finishing the Chase in the top-five. There’s only one short track (Phoenix) left on the schedule, but we’ve had some success at Texas, and I’m looking forward to the final four races. Our strategy will probably start to resemble the strategy we had once we were locked into the Chase—we’ll be able to take a few more chances to get us in the top-five when the checkered flag drops in Miami.”