FEDEX RACING EXPRESS FACTS
SUBWAY FRESH 500 – PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

RACE INFO:
Event: Subway Fresh 500 Date/Time: April 22, 2006 / 8 p.m. ET Track: Phoenix International Raceway
Length: 1.0 mile Shape: Oval Distance: 312 laps/312 miles
Banking: 11/9 degrees 2005 winner: Kurt Busch 2005 polesitter: Jeff Gordon

EXPRESS NOTES:
Career Day for Hamlin at Texas Motor Speedway: Denny Hamlin started eighth and finished a career-best fourth in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway. The finish marks a season and career best for Hamlin in the Nextel Cup series and moves the team into 14th place in the point standings heading to Phoenix. Hamlin led the 334-lap race on three occasions for a total of 41 laps but relinquished his place at the front when handling woes set in mid race. Putting patience on display to keep the car in the top ten until he could reach pit road for changes, Hamlin then rebounded late in the race to take the Raybestos Rookie Contender award and post the highest finish by a rookie in the 2006 season. The result also moves Hamlin into first place in the season Rookie Contender standings though seven races.

2006 NNCS Points: Hamlin’s fourth-place finish at Texas moved the FedEx Racing team from 23rd to 14th place in the season standings, a gain of nine spots. Hamlin currently sits on 747 points, 98 points out of 10th and 316 points behind season leader Jimmie Johnson.

Hamlin Leads Rookie Standings: Hamlin’s best NASCAR Nextel Cup finish, and highest finish by a rookie this season, earns him sole possession of first place in the Raybestos Rookie Contender standings heading to Phoenix. He leads second-place Clint Bower by three points and Martin Truex Jr. by seven points. It was the third time this season Hamlin has been highest-finishing rookie (Las Vegas, Bristol, Texas).

Hamlin at Phoenix International Raceway: The Subway Fresh 500 will be Hamlin’s second start at Phoenix International Raceway in a NASCAR Nextel Cup car and his 15th career start in NASCAR’s top flight. He made his debut at the track in November of 2005 and made news by driving the #11 FedEx Chevrolet to his first ever Cup pole. Hamlin spent most of the afternoon in the top-five and led the race for 23 laps before a missed lug nut during a late-race pit stop forced the team to settle for a 13th-place finish. In two Busch Series starts at the 1.0-mile track, Hamlin has posted finishes of 11th and ninth.

#11 FedEx Pit Crew Take Top Honors in Texas: The #11 pit crew became the fifth team of the season to secure the weekly Checkers®/Rally’s® Double Drive-Thru Challenge competition by spending the least amount of time on pit road in Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin’s pit crew spent 253.611 seconds on pit lane during the Samsung/RadioShack 500 and earned $10,500 for the win.

Phoenix International Raceway Chassis JGR 044/JGR 067: This will be the first race of the 2006 NNCS season for Chassis 044. Most recently, Terry Labonte drove this car to a ninth-place finish at Richmond in September of 2005. Prior to that, Tony Stewart made four starts in this car during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, recording two top-ten finishes (Martinsville, Oct. 2003 & Phoenix, Nov. 2004) and Jason Leffer posted finishes of 25th and 29th (Richmond and Loudon) in the 2005 season. Chassis 067 will serve as the back up this weekend and is the car Hamlin drove to the pole at Phoenix in Nov. of 2005.

QUOTES:
Hamlin on Phoenix International Raceway: “Phoenix International Raceway is one of my favorite tracks - a track that I feel really suits my driving style. I spent years running Late Models on tracks that were flat, or at least not banked like a lot of the tracks we visit, and I think that really helps me coming to a track like Phoenix in a Cup car because it feels familiar to me. Phoenix is a unique track because both ends are different and there is a dogleg on the backstretch you have to contend with so handling will again be the difference between having a good day and struggling. Overall, we had a good run here last year. We won the pole and led some laps before some bad luck during the race dropped us from top-five finish back to a top-fifteen finish. I know we learned a lot here in the fall so that should translate into another competitive #11 car.

FedEx Flashback
Nov.13, 2005 – Denny Hamlin wins the Bud Pole Award at Phoenix International Raceway in only his sixth NASCAR Nextel Cup start. Hamlin qualified for the Bud Shootout at Daytona and this February became the first rookie to win the event.