Denny Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry to a 12th-place finish in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, the penultimate race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and Round 9 of the Chase for the championship.

Hamlin attacked the newly-paved and reconfigured one-mile desert oval from the drop of the green flag, working through traffic from his 33rd starting position to climb near the top-20 by the race’s midpoint. A timely caution just past the halfway mark — in the middle of green flag pit stops — allowed the FedEx team to make a stop during the yellow and move to the brink of the top-10.

The 30-year-old Virginian, who sat on the pole in his very-first Phoenix start in 2005, battled a nagging tight condition in the center of the corners which prevented him from challenging for the victory in the 312-lap event won by Kasey Kahne.

“The track kept tightening up as more rubber was laid down,” said Hamlin, following the race. “We were chasing the track in practice on Friday and qualifying on Saturday, and with the rain overnight, it was a whole new ballgame. We just got too tight to make a run late in the race, but we ended up with a decent finish.”

Crew chief Mike Ford called for a variety of wedge and air pressure adjustments throughout the race in hopes of freeing up the #11 machine, but the track’s changing conditions throughout the afternoon made it a difficult task.

The finish kept Hamlin 10th in the Chase standings following Phoenix, as only three points separate leader Carl Edwards and second-place Tony Stewart heading into next Sunday’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Via FedEx Racing

Hamlin battled an ill-handling #11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry throughout the 334-lap, 501-mile event won by Tony Stewart, as a persistent loose condition prohibited the 30-year-old Virginian from defending his race win at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth oval from one year ago.

The #11 machine started 28th on Sunday afternoon, but Hamlin immediately felt handling issues at the drop of the green flag. Fighting a loose race car in corner entry and exit, but tight in the center of the corners, Hamlin worked hard throughout the first few green flag runs to maintain pace with the lead group.

A variety of changes during pit stops called by crew chief Mike Ford tried to bring the car to life, but fixing one issue seemed to make another worse as the laps clicked.

Making matters worse, contact on pit road with Brad Keselowski with less than 75 laps to go dropped Hamlin from the top-15 to the tail end of the lead lap field after repairs on pit road. Varying fuel strategies in the race’s final stages moved Hamlin up to 20th for the checkered flag.

With the finish, Hamlin improved one spot to 10th in the NASCAR point standings following Texas, with two races remaining on the schedule.

The Series returns to action at Phoenix International Raceway on November 13.

Martinsville Recap – Via FedEx Racing

Denny Hamlin drove the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota to a fifth-place finish Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, leading 58 of the 500 laps en route to his fifth top-five finish of the season. With the result, Hamlin remains 11th in the Chase standings with three races remaining. Hamlin started 11th as Sunday’s starting order was decided by owner points when rain canceled qualifying, and was immediately collected in an early-race incident in front of him. With only minimal damage to the car, Hamlin used differing pit strategy and was soon able to work his way back up the field. It quickly paid off and Hamlin claimed the race lead by lap 63. Most teams on pit road used different strategies as the #11 machine shuffled throughout the top-10 as the laps clicked during the caution-filled event. Crew chief Mike Ford worked to free up the car for Hamlin just past the race’s midpoint, and on fresh tires and with improved handling, Hamlin was able to pass Jeff Gordon on lap 320 to reclaim the lead. Making his final pit stop of the day with less than 50 to go, Hamlin was forced to restart on the outside line after a flurry of late-race yellows and was unable to challenge for the win. Hamlin also became the 23rd driver in NASCAR history to win at least one race in all three national series with a victory in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event.

Texas Preview
The Series shifts to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s 334-lap event on the 1.5-mile Fort Worth oval. Hamlin is the defending fall race winner at the track, leading 31 laps last November to take the checkered flag. The Virginia native swept both races at the track in 2010, leading 12 laps in the spring en route to victory lane. The FedEx team finished 15th at Texas earlier this year. Hamlin fought a loose race car throughout the 334-lap event, lost a lap to the leaders during a long green flag run in the race’s midpoint and never got a timely caution while in position for the “lucky dog.” In 12 starts at the track, Hamlin owns two wins and eight top-10 finishes, and has led 131 laps. Hamlin’s 9.3 average finishing position at Texas is second-best among active drivers, only trailing Matt Kenseth (6.8).

Race to Prepare with American Red Cross in
Hamlin, FedEx and the American Red Cross will team up to teach school children the importance of disaster preparedness and help build kits to be used in the case of weather-related disasters on Thursday at Cross Timbers Middle School in Grapevine, Texas.

Bloomington, Minnesota Location Along for the Ride in Texas
The FedEx Office location in Bloomington, Minn., is leading the company’s President’s Club program, and will be recognized with its “0625″ code numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend.

Hamlin Conversation – Texas Motor Speedway

How do you focus on the final three races of the season?
“We just have to manage our expectations from here on out. I finished outside the top-eight in points only once in my career, so that’s something I’d like to keep going. We’re trying to get as much as we can. Obviously, being set back so far the first three races — we’re still at the same deficit we were at a few weeks ago. So, we’re maintaining it at this point with those top guys. It’s just hard to overcome that. My goal is to win a race before the end of the season. I feel that would go a really long way with our FedEx team and myself and the confidence level, and I feel like we could do that. We have some awesome race tracks ahead of us.”

Via FedEx Racing

Denny Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota to a fifth place finish in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 on the short-track of Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin led 58 of the 500 laps on the day, claiming first place on two separate occasions. With the result, Hamlin remains 11th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship with three races remaining in the season.

“While we’re not entirely disappointed with finishing fifth, it’s still a bit frustrating when we felt like we had a great car and we were competing hard all day for the lead,” said Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota. “Still, I’m proud of the work our FedEx crew put in to get us in a position to compete and hopefully give our fans something to cheer about.”

With drafting essential to running well at Talladega, the FedEx team partnered with the #39 U.S. Army car of Ryan Newman in practice. But after Newman qualified 21 spots higher than Hamlin, the two were not able to connect early in the race. As a result, Hamlin was the odd-man-out with 43 cars on the track and struggled throughout most of the day to find a draft partner.

Tony Stewart took the checkered flag to mark his third win of the season. Stewart was followed by fellow Chase contenders Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick. Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Joey Logano and Kyle Busch finished 18th and 27th, respectively.

A Virginia native, Hamlin has historically run well at Martinsville, which includes four career Sprint Cup wins on the half-mile oval. Driving the #18 for Kyle Busch Motorsports on Saturday, Hamlin earned his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in his only truck start this season. The win puts Hamlin in elite company that is able to claim at least one win in all three of NASCAR’s top series.

The starting order was decided by owner points when rain canceled qualifying on Saturday. Beginning the day on the outside of row five, Hamlin was involved in an early wreck on lap eight that pushed the FedEx car back to 37th

Sustaining minimal damage to the car, Hamlin was soon able to work his way back up the field. A caution flag on lap 27 brought most of the cars down pit lane. Seeing an opportunity to reclaim track position, Hamlin and Crew Chief Mike Ford made the decision to stay out on the track. By the third caution flag of the day on lap 46, Hamlin was running in fifth place.

Under that caution, Hamlin and Ford once again decided to stay out and challenge for position. The strategy quickly paid off and Hamlin claimed the race lead by lap 63. A fourth yellow flag followed on lap 65 which brought the FedEx car to the pits for four tires, fuel and a slight track bar adjustment. With some cars on the lead lap deciding to stay out this time, Hamlin dropped to 14th place.

Hamlin battled back to second place when a caution flag on lap 150 brought a welcome opportunity to pit for fresh tires and fuel. Back to green flag racing, the field settled in and was able to avoid a caution for 45 consecutive laps. On lap 196, the eight caution flag of the day brought the FedEx car to the pits for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment to the right rear tire. The green flag waved again on lap 203 with Hamlin in 3rd place.

With the car freeing up on him, Hamlin kept fighting to stay toward the front of the pack. By lap 258, the FedEx team was running in second place when a caution flag slowed the field. On the ensuing pit stop, the crew made a second track bar adjustment to go along with fuel and four tires. Now on fresh tires and with improved handling, Hamlin was able to pass race leader Jeff Gordon on lap 320 to reclaim the lead.

Hamlin led 42 laps before Gordon took back the lead by getting inside position on turn four. With Hamlin now in second and just over 100 laps remaining, the team started to focus on pit strategy. Down the stretch, the team declined to pit on four consecutive caution flags before finally being forced to on lap 457 in third place. Three more cautions within 46 laps of the checkered flag followed and prevented the FedEx team from building momentum and making a late push for the lead.

Denny Hamlin took advantage of fresh tires on a late race restart to pick up his 1st Camping World Truck Series win. On the last restart, Hamlin third behind Austin Dillion and Ron Hornaday took over the first position when Austin Dillion slid up into Hornaday in the middle of the turn. Hamlin drove right by under them and went onto win the race from there.

Thanks to Kyle and KBM for giving Hamlin the oppurtunity to race today in great equipment. We look forward to hopefully seeing Denny drive in some more truck races in the future.

Via FedEx Racing

Talladega Recap

Denny Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Office Toyota to a top-10 finish at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, finishing eighth in the race won by Clint Bowyer. With the finish, Hamlin moved up one spot to hold 11th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings with four races remaining in the season. To start the race, Hamlin was the odd-man-out with 43 cars on the track and struggled throughout most of the day to find a draft partner. By lap 25 of 188, the FedEx team was down a lap and needed the Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap. Using various drafting partners throughout the remainder of the event — including teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman — the #11 Toyota worked from the back to the front. However, Newman’s damaged car was unable to keep the duo in the top-10, with the two slipping back. A caution with 15 laps remaining enabled Hamlin and Logano to link back up, and the duo sliced through the field to get back in contention. Hamlin was collected by Mark Martin in an incident, but quick work by the FedEx crew got Hamlin back on track for the finish, where he was able to move up to eighth for the checkered flag.

Martinsville Preview
The Series shifts to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, a track that Hamlin has had great success at throughout his career. The 30-year-old Chesterfield, Va., native has won four races at the 0.526-mile ‘paper clip,’ including the last two fall Chase races. Hamlin has been dominant at Martinsville in his career, finishing in the top-five in eight of 12 starts at the track. In the spring race at the track, Hamlin started fifth and led a race-high 89 of 500 laps, but an untimely caution after the FedEx team had made its green flag pit stop yielded a 12th-place finish. Hamlin swept the two races at the track in 2010, starting on the pole and leading 40 laps en route to victory lane in last year’s fall race. The spring race saw a determined Hamlin charge from ninth to first in four laps for the win, just two days before undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. Hamlin earned his first victory at Martinsville in the spring 2008 race, and won again in the fall of 2009. In total, Hamlin has led 1,038 laps at the track, and has an average finish of 6.6.

Piedmont District Along for the Ride in Martinsville The FedEx Ground Piedmont district, covering most of North Carolina and southern Virginia, is one of the leading teams in “Quality Driven Management” principles, and will be recognized with its “PIED” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota this weekend.

Hamlin Conversation – Martinsville Speedway

What has been your key to success at Martinsville?
“It’s really a combination of things. I have raced at Martinsville more than I have raced at any other track when you consider total laps. Growing up in Virginia I had the chance to race here in some other series and all that track time definitely gave me a comfort level at Martinsville. That carried over to trucks and Nationwide Series and now to the Cup Series. I feel really confident at this track and I know we bring great cars – those things together usually lead to success. It’s also a lot of pressure because this is a race we circle as one where we expect to be really competitive.”

Via FedEx Racing

Denny Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Office Toyota to a top-ten finish at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, finishing eighth despite being involved in a late race wreck. With the finish, Hamlin moves up one spot to 11th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings with four races remaining in the season. “Talladega is a wild ride, you never know exactly what to expect after the green flag drops,” said Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota. “We just went out there and tried to run hard and overall we’re happy to be leaving with a top-ten finish.”

Clint Bowyer took the checkered flag in the caution-filled race, followed closely by Jeff Burton. Dave Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Brian Vickers rounded out the top five. Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Joey Logano and Kyle Busch finished 24th and 33rd, respectively.

With drafting essential to running well at Talladega, the FedEx team partnered with the #39 U.S. Army car of Ryan Newman in practice. But after Newman qualified 21 spots higher than Hamlin, the two were not able to connect early in the race. As a result, Hamlin was the odd-man-out with 43 cars on the track and struggled throughout most of the day to find a draft partner.

By lap 25 of 188 the FedEx team was down a lap when a caution flag came out giving Hamlin the Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap. After the green flag dropped three laps later, Hamlin weaved through the field, searching out various drafting partners to stay on the lead lap. By lap 42, Hamlin was running 31st and in a line of cars drafting similar to the old style of racing at Talladega.

Lap 68 brought the second caution flag of the day as Logano’s left front tire shredded, tearing up the wheel well. Crew Chief Mike Ford brought the FedEx car to pit for left side tires and fuel, and the goal of connecting with the #18 of Kyle Busch. Busch had been drafting with Logano prior to the caution.

Now with a secure drafting partner, Hamlin pushed the #18 car to first place by lap 91. As is often the case at Talladega, Hamlin soon lost his drafting partner when a caution slowed the field on lap 104. When the green flag dropped, Hamlin was once again searching for a collaborator and fell to the back half of the field.

Caution flag number five on lap 121 brought a welcome opportunity to radio for a drafting partner. Fortunately for the FedEx team, the #42 of Juan Pablo Montoya was also in need. The green flag dropped on lap 125 with Montoya pushing the FedEx car. However, caution flag number six quickly followed and the team was finally able to go to the original game plan and connect with Newman.

Hamlin got in front of Newman’s #39 car with 50 laps remaining. Newman had sustained damage to his car earlier in the race and was not able to propel Hamlin to the front of the pack. By lap 148, the pair was running 29th and 30th.

Yellow flag number seven on lap 163 brought the FedEx car to pit lane for four tires and fuel. This time, the FedEx team was able to hook up with Logano on the green flag. Being pushed by the #20 car, Hamlin surged up the field to 13th place.

With eight laps remaining, Hamlin got wrapped up with Mark Martin and slid off of the race track. The ensuing caution brought Hamlin to the pits, where quick work by the FedEx team got the car back out on the track.

Despite not having a set drafting partner, Hamlin was able to work up the field when the green flag dropped with three laps to go and claim a top-ten finish.

Via FedEx Racing

Charlotte Recap

Denny Hamlin finished ninth in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Round 5 of the 2011 Chase for the championship won by Matt Kenseth. Hamlin restarted fifth after the final caution with 12 laps remaining, but a tight race car prevented the 30-year-old driver from challenging for the win, as he collected his 11th top-10 of the season. The #11 FedEx Express Toyota started 17th in the 334-lap event around the 1.5-mile speedway. Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford worked through a tight condition on the race car during most of the race, but timely cautions, helpful adjustments and quick work by the FedEx crew on pit road put Hamlin inside the top-five with less than 100 laps to go. Hamlin ran among the top-five as the laps clicked, with his car working better on the short runs. A flurry of late-race cautions moved the #11 Toyota into the top-three, but the tight condition returned and track position shuffled Hamlin back in the final running order. The finish keeps Hamlin 12th in the Chase standings following Charlotte, 86 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

Talladega Preview
The second half of the 2011 Chase kicks off Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Hamlin has three top-five finishes and four top-10 results in 11 previous starts at the 2.66-mile high-banked oval, including a career-best third place run in the spring 2008 event. The #11 FedEx car has consistently been one of the fastest at Talladega in recent years, with Hamlin leading at least one lap in his first 10 starts at the track, and has led 10 or more laps in six events. Hamlin finished ninth in the Chase race at Talladega one year ago after starting 17th and leading four laps. Hamlin has the fourth-best average running position (15.1) at NASCAR’s longest track over the last six years, trailing only teammate Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya. In the spring race at Talladega this past April, Hamlin qualified 29th and spent the majority of the 188-lap event biding his time until the end. Working the tandem draft with Ryan Newman, Hamlin’s strategy was to avoid trouble early in the race to make a late push for the win. A late tire issue for Newman caused Hamlin to search for a new partner, finding one in Logano. The duo ran among the top-10 until three laps to go, when a spin in front of them caused the two cars to separate and Hamlin to lose the lead draft.

Highland Village Along for the Ride in Charlotte
The FedEx Office located in Highland Village, Texas, currently leads the company’s President’s Club program, and will be recognized with its “2198″ store numbers on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota this weekend.

Hamlin Conversation – Talladega Superspeedway

Do you think Talladega owes you a win after leading so many laps at the track?
“You can never expect anything at Talladega other than you are going to need a great car and a good amount of luck. We’ve improved so much here over the years and we now come to Talladega thinking we can run up front and our record here shows that we can. It’s a matter of getting that strategy just right so when the time comes you know you are ready to go. If we can keep our car out of trouble at Talladega, I think we’ll have as good of a chance as anyone to win there.”

Via FedEx Racing

Denny Hamlin finished ninth in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Round 5 of the 2011 Chase for the championship won by Matt Kenseth.

Hamlin restarted fifth after the final caution with 12 laps remaining, but a tight race car prevented the 30-year-old driver from challenging for the win, as he collected his 11th top-10 of the season.

“Those last two restarts we were in the bottom line and the bottom line went nowhere all day long,” said Hamlin. “It was still a good day for our FedEx Camry. We’re making strides and we’re heading in the right direction. We’re still trying to dig through all this information that I’ve got to give these guys to head us in the right direction for the future.”

The #11 FedEx Express Toyota started 17th in the 334-lap event around the 1.5-mile speedway. Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford worked through a tight condition on the race car during most of the race, but timely cautions, helpful adjustments and quick work by the FedEx crew on pit road put Hamlin inside the top-five with less than 100 laps to go.

Hamlin ran among the top-five as the laps clicked, with his car working better on the short runs. A flurry of late-race cautions moved the #11 Toyota into the top-three, but the tight condition returned and track position shuffled Hamlin back in the final running order.

The finish keeps Hamlin 12th in the Chase standings following Charlotte, 86 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

The Sprint Cup Series returns to action at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Oct. 23.

Via FedEx Racing

Kansas Recap

Denny Hamlin piloted the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota to a 16th place finish in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway last Sunday. With the result, Hamlin remains 12th in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings with six races remaining. The FedEx team started the day on the inside of row four after posting a strong qualifying run on Friday. Handling issues began to plague the car almost immediately after the start. Hamlin reported a lack of grip in the corners and worked with crew chief Mike Ford to try to bring the car to life. The second pit stop of the day came under green flag racing on lap 66, bringing a welcome opportunity for a wedge adjustment to help correct the handling problems. Despite the loose race car, the team was still running just outside of the top 10. A green flag pit stop on lap 172 finally paid off for the team, with another wedge adjustment that seemed to improve the car’s handling with Hamlin in 12th place. A string of caution flags closing in on the end of the race tested the strategy of the crew chiefs. Under caution on lap 220, the FedEx car came to the pits for a wedge adjustment, right side tires and enough fuel to take them to the end. During another caution flag on lap 240, Ford kept the FedEx car on the track, moving Hamlin up to second place. However, handling issues and older tires kept Hamlin from maintaining pace, and he dropped to 16th for the checkered flag behind winner Jimmie Johnson.

Charlotte Preview
Hamlin is making his 13th career Cup Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night, Round 5 of the 2011 Chase. The 30-year-old Virginia native has five top-10 finishes in 12 career races at the 1.5-mile oval, including a career-best fourth-place finish in the Bank of America 500 one year ago. Earlier this year, Hamlin started fourth, led 24 laps and finished 10th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. With differing fuel strategies among teams, Hamlin tried to conserve enough gas to make it to the finish after his final pit stop, but a caution with four laps remaining set up a ‘green-white-checkered’ restart with Hamlin in third. Leader Kasey Kahne ran out of fuel at the green flag, and Hamlin moved into second behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. However, both drivers ran out of gas on the backstretch of the final lap, and the #11 Toyota coasted to the checkered flag in 10th. In total, Hamlin has led at least one lap in eight of 12 races at Charlotte.

Columbia, South Carolina Along for the Ride in Charlotte:
The FedEx Express operations team in West Columbia, South Carolina will be recognized with its “USCA” code letters on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota this weekend.

Hamlin Conversation – Charlotte Motor Speedway

Does your position in the points allow your team to go for more race wins?
“We’re trying a lot of different things to work on different packages to get better. I feel like there’s some stuff within our cars and stuff that we need to work on, but we’re not going to get to that until next year. It takes a long process to develop cars. When drivers want to change them it takes a long time to get it done. So, I feel like we’ve got some good things in the works. As long as everyone is open-minded at the shop these next few weeks to a bunch of radical changes, I think that we have the potential to head in the right direction. I think that you’ll see in the next two to three weeks that we will be heading in the right direction.”