Via FedEx Racing

FedEx Racing Team Fights for 15th-Place Finish at Texas

Denny Hamlin led 89 laps Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and was in contention to win his fourth-straight race at the track before a pit stop under green with 40 laps to go and untimely caution shortly thereafter trapped the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota a lap down and relegated the team to a 12th-place finish.

The FedEx Racing team and driver Denny Hamlin battled a loose race car throughout Saturday night’s NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway, and finished 15th in the Samsung Mobile 500 won by Matt Kenseth.

Hamlin started 23rd and never got the track position needed to challenge for the victory at the place where he swept both Sprint Cup Series races in 2010. A long green flag run during the race’s midpoint allowed the leaders to put the #11 FedEx Office/March of Dimes Toyota one lap down, a position Hamlin couldn’t recover from.

“We just had one bad run and that was the one that got us caught a lap down and just couldn’t get it back,” said Hamlin, following the race. “At times, it felt like we were really good. We just got caught in the wrong pit sequence. I felt like our strategy was good. Pit stops were a little bit better this week. But we just had bad timing. We were going to be the ‘lucky dog’ and the caution came out right as the leader passed someone else. So, for me it’s just frustrating in that sense.”

Crew chief Mike Ford directed the team members over the wall through a series of tire pressure and track bar changes during pit stops, hoping to bring the #11 machine to life. By the end of the race, Hamlin was running lap times consistent or better than the leaders, but never got the caution he was looking for.

The 334-lap race on the 1.5-mile oval was slowed by just five cautions for 24 laps.

With the finish, Hamlin dropped one spot to 20th in the unofficial standings following Texas, now 82 points behind leader Edwards after seven of 36 races.

The Sprint Cup Series returns to action April 17 at Talladega (Ala.) Speedway.

Samsung Mobile 500 Qualifying Results