FedEx Racing Express Facts — Richmond International Raceway

September 2, 2014

RACE INFO: Event: Federated Auto Parts 400

Date/Time: Sept. 6/7:30 p.m. ET
2013 winner: Carl Edwards
2013 polesitter: Jeff Gordon
Distance: 400 laps/300 miles
Track Length: 0.750-mile
Banking: 14 degrees
Track Shape: Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Atlanta Recap: Denny Hamlin finished third in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, crossing the finish line behind winner Kasey Kahne and teammate Matt Kenseth after the second ‘green-white-checkered’ attempt at the 1.5-mile oval in the #11 SportClips Toyota. Hamlin started 17th and quickly worked his way into the top-10 on the slick, worn out Atlanta surface. Lightning fast pit stops throughout the night kept the #11 team in the top-five for the majority of the event, with Hamlin leading six times for a total of 37 laps during the race. After a pair of late-race cautions, Hamlin lined up second for the final restart, but was unable to carry his momentum into Turn 1 in the high line, as Kahne split Hamlin and Kenseth through the corner to capture the lead. The third-place result was Hamlin’s sixth top-10 finish in the last eight races.

Richmond Preview: The Series heads to Richmond International Raceway for Saturday night’s 400-lap event on the three-quarter-mile oval, and the final regular season race of the 2014 campaign for Hamlin in the #11 FedEx Express Toyota. Hamlin, from nearby Chesterfield, Va., is a two-time Cup winner at the track, capturing the checkered flag in back-to-back September races at Richmond in 2009 and 2010. Hamlin’s 112.5 driver rating at Richmond is the best among active drivers at the track, where he has led 1,390 of 6,410 laps (21.6%) in his career. Earlier this season, Hamlin finished 22nd at the track after contact with less than 10 laps to go.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – RICHMOND:

What is your mindset heading into the final regular season race at Richmond?

“I think our FedEx team has shown over the past couple months a lot of improvement at a variety of different tracks, and we are close to hitting our stride right when the Chase is about to start. Obviously, Richmond is one of my favorite tracks to race at, and one that we have had success on in the past, but we didn’t run all that well there the last couple times. I think our short track program has come a long way, and hopefully we run up front on Saturday night. We’ll be pulling out all the stops to try to win the race and get three more points heading into the Chase. The competition is so tough and every point will matter once the Chase begins.”

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