DENNY HAMLIN
#11 FedEx Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
FEDEX RACING EXPRESS FACTS
SHARPIE 500 – BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

RACE INFO:
Event: Sharpie 500
Date/Time: Aug. 26, 2006/7:40 p.m. ET
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Length: .533 Miles
Shape: Oval
Distance: 500 laps/266.5 miles
Banking: 36 Degrees
2005 winner: Matt Kenseth
2005 polesitter: Matt Kenseth

EXPRESS NOTES:
Hamlin at Bristol Motor Speedway: The Sharpie 500 will mark Hamlin’s second Cup appearance at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hamlin’s only previous Cup start came in the 2006 Food City 500 on March 26. With qualifying called on account of rain and snow, Hamlin started 33rd and finished 14th. Hamlin has three Bristol Motor Speedway starts in the Busch Series and boasts an averaging finishing position of ninth. His best Busch Series performance at BMS came this spring in the Sharpie Mini 300 on March 25 where he started seventh and finished fourth while leading 29 laps.

Hamlin on Bristol: “Bristol is a place where all you can do is worry about what you can control. We are bringing back the same car we ran there in the spring and it proved then it’s a good car. We were unfortunate to have qualifying rained out because I think we would have qualified well, that would have helped us maybe move out in front of the crowd a little. As it was, we passed a lot of cars there in March and managed to avoid wrecks that were happening all around us. If we can do the same this time out I think we’ll be in good shape.”

Top Ten Streak Alive: With a ninth-place finish at Michigan, Denny Hamlin builds on his streak of top-ten finishes that has him in eighth place in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings. Starting with a sixth-place finish at New Hampshire, Hamlin has recorded a win (Pocono) and consecutive tenth-place finishes (Indianapolis and Watkins Glen) before claiming ninth-place at Michigan. Hamlin has recorded 11 top-ten finishes through the first 23 races of the season.

2006 Points: Hamlin avoided the standings shake-up following Michigan, staying put in eighth place heading to Bristol this weekend. Hamlin is currently three points behind Kyle Busch in seventh place and five points ahead of Jeff Burton in ninth. With three races to go before the Chase cutoff, Hamlin has a 39-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. in tenth place and an 88-point lead over Kasey Kahne in 11th.

2006 Rookie Race: By virtue of his ninth-place finish at Michigan, Hamlin extends his lead in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings after 23 races on the Nextel Cup schedule and currently leads second-place Clint Bowyer by 47 points (237-190). Hamlin earned Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors at the Spring Bristol race with a 14th-place finish.

Bristol Chassis JGR 115/127: The #11 FedEx Team will race car JGR 115 this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. This is the car that, after qualifying was cancelled due to weather, Hamlin drove to a 14th-place finish at Bristol in April. In its only other start this season, Hamlin qualified seventh and finished 11th in this car at Dover. Prior to this season, this car only has one start - a seventh pace finish at Texas last November. Back up car 127 raced at Atlanta and Charlotte this spring posting finishes of 31st and ninth, respectively.

FedEx Freight Car at Bristol: Hamlin’s #11 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS will sport the FedEx Freight colors for the fifth time this season at Bristol. Throughout the season, Hamlin and FedEx Racing will feature schemes representing four of the FedEx operating companies; FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Kinko’s.

Hamlin on Chase Strategy with Three Races to Go: “With as close and competitive as this race for a spot in the Chase is, I am happy to be going back to tracks for the second time. To carry over some knowledge from the first time I was there in a Cup car helps me a great deal. I feel more comfortable out there on the track but I also have a better sense of how to communicate the handling to Mike (Ford) and the guys on the crew.

As we crossed races of the schedule, we really made an effort to look at the big picture. At this point we need to take a safer route if we want to be a Chase contender. Not that we won’t drive our cars to their potential, but we aren’t going to take unnecessary risks with so much on the line. I am fortunate to be sitting in a top-ten car and I know my job is to drive smart and make sure we aren’t leaving anything on the track but also bringing the car back in one piece.”