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[/media-credit]RACE INFO: Event: Auto Club 400
Date/Time: March 25/12 p.m. PT
2011 winner: Kevin Harvick
2011 polesitter: Juan Pablo Montoya
Distance: 200 laps/400 miles
Track Length: 2.0 miles
Banking: 14 degrees
Track Shape: Oval
2012 FedEx Racing Press Kit – Available for Download: Please visit www.fedexracing.com/presskit for the 2012 FedEx Racing press materials, including bios for Denny Hamlin, Darian Grubb and Joe Gibbs Racing leadership, program highlights, program statistics and 2012 crew roster.
EXPRESS NOTES: Bristol Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 20th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, fighting track position in the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry throughout the 500-lap event won by Brad Keselowski. A right-front wheel left loose during a key green flag pit stop near the race’s halfway point forced a second stop, where the #11 Toyota lost two laps to the leaders. Hamlin and crew chief Darian Grubb did all they could to work strategy for the remainder of the race, but eventually settled for 20th. Passing was at a premium on the high-banked, 0.533-mile Tennessee oval, and a tight condition forced Hamlin to run the high groove for the majority of the race. From his 20th-place starting position, Hamlin’s car seemed to get better longer in runs, but a pair of early cautions kept him from advancing too far up the running order. The finish drops Hamlin two spots to fifth in the NASCAR standings following Bristol, now 20 points behind leader Greg Biffle after four of 26 regular season races.
California Preview: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads back out west for Sunday’s 400-mile event at Auto Club Speedway (ACS) in Fontana, Calif. Hamlin is making his 12th-career start at the two-mile speedway in the #11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, posting four top-10 finishes in 11 events at ACS. He finished a career-best third at Fontana in the summer 2008 race. This season marks the second year in-a-row that ACS will host just one Cup Series race. One year ago, Hamlin started second and led 15 laps early in the race before losing a motor after just 105 of 200 laps, relegating him to a 39th-place result. Hamlin has led a total of 71 laps at ACS.
Race Series Date Start Finish Laps Led Auto Club 500 Sprint Cup March 27, 2011 2 39 105/200 15 Pepsi Max 400 Sprint Cup Oct. 10, 2010 34 8 200/200 Auto Club 500 Sprint Cup Fe b. 21, 2010 25 29 248/250 6 Pepsi 500 Sprint Cup Oct. 11, 2009 1 37 195/250 21 Auto Club 500 Sprint Cup Feb. 22, 2009 23 6 250/250 Auto Club 500 Sprint Cup Feb. 25, 2008 12 41 193/250 Pepsi 500 Sprint Cup Aug. 31, 2008 21 3 250/250 Sharp Aquos 500 Nextel Cup Sept. 2, 2007 9 19 249/250 Auto Club 500 Nextel Cup Feb. 25, 2007 17 11 250/250 Sony HD 500 Nextel Cup Sept. 3, 2006 8 6 250/250 29 Auto Club 500 Nextel Cup Feb. 26, 2006 5 12 250/250 Averages/Totals 14.3 19.2 92.1% 71
FedEx Office – Closest to Auto Club Speedway: 11334 4th Street, Suite 102, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730, (909) 481-2277
FedEx Express Denver Ramp Along for the Ride at Auto Club Speedway: The FedEx Express Denver ramp will be recognized for performance excellence with its code, “DENR,” on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend at Auto Club Speedway.
HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Auto Club Speedway: What do you need to breakthrough for that first win at Auto Club Speedway? “Auto Club has turned into one of my favorite tracks. The surface has worn a little bit and you can literally run from the white line all the way to the wall, searching for where your car works best. We haven’t had a ton of success at California. We have had some bad luck with tires or getting caught in wrecks, and I’m still looking for that first win. It’s big and wide and fast, and a lot of fun for the drivers. You need a lot of horsepower because the straightaways are long, and that place is tough on motors. It’s a little easier now that this race is 400 miles.”
