FEDEX RACING EXPRESS FACTS
SHARP AQUOS 500 - CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

RACE INFO:
Event: Sharp AQUOS 500
Date/Time: September 2, 2007 / 5 p.m. PT
Length: 2.0 miles
Shape: D-shaped oval
Banking: 14 degrees
Distance: 250 laps/500 miles
2006 winner: Kasey Kahne
2006 polesitter: Kurt Busch

EXPRESS NOTES:
Fast Start, Disappointing Finish at Bristol: Despite starting in the 43rd position due to a post-practice engine change at the Sharpie 500, Denny Hamlin rapidly picked his way through the field early in the 500 lap event and found himself running sixth just 130 laps into the race. Unfortunately, Hamlin and the #11 FedEx team saw their hopes for a strong finish dashed as Hamlin’s engine blew on lap 209. As a result, Hamlin recorded his first “Did Not Finish” in 53 races, dating back to Martinsville in the spring of 2006. It is only Hamlin’s second DNF of his career. Hamlin’s 43rd place finish moved him to third place in the season standings and he currently sits four points behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Tony Stewart, who moved into second place following Bristol. Hamlin trails leader Jeff Gordon by 353 points.

Hamlin at California: This will be Hamlin’s fourth career Cup start at California Speedway. In his three previous starts, Hamlin finished 11th, sixth and 12th and has an average finish of 9.6 at the two-mile speedway. During the spring Cup race in February, Hamlin flew through the field early in the race to move from 17th to third before handling issues became an issue that would hinder the #11 FedEx team’s chances to compete for a win. Hamlin would ultimately finish the race in 11th. In 2006, Hamlin twice qualified the #11 FedEx Chevrolet in the top-ten before posting finishes of 12th and sixth, respectively. The sixth place finish came in the midst of a seven-race top-ten streak leading up to the 2006 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup cutoff.

Wear Your Heart on Your Helmet at California: Hamlin will be sporting a helmet designed for him by patients at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles when he takes to the track this weekend at California Speedway. Hamlin will visit the hospital on Thursday, August 30 to meet with patients and staff and be presented with the special helmet. He also will deliver a donation from FedEx in the amount of $25,000, race R/C cars with the patients, and all join the patients as they design their own mini-FedEx Racing helmet. The helmet presented to Hamlin this week is the seventh of eleven helmets designed by children’s hospital patients and children granted wishes through the Make-A-Wish program as part of the 2007 FedEx “Wear Your Heart on Your Helmet” program. All eleven race-worn helmets will be displayed and auctioned off at the end of the season to benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp.

California Chassis – JGR 121 and 137: The #11 FedEx Team will continue to run their workhorse, chassis 121, at the big motor tracks as they unload this weekend at California Speedway. In fifteen Cup starts, the “Pocono” car has recorded ten top-ten finishes, five-top five finishes and two wins (Pocono-2). This will be the sixth start of the 2007 season for this car. Chassis 137 started in Fontana (11th-place finish) last February and Atlanta (19th-place finish) earlier this season and will serve as the backup.

QUOTES
Hamlin on Racing at Fontana: “I enjoy it; it’s a lot like Michigan. I’m excited about going there because we ran really well in the Busch and Cup races at Michigan and a lot of things transfer. Even though it holds 100,000 or 150,000 people, it doesn’t look sold out and so it just doesn’t get the kind of buildup that a lot of other race tracks do when the stands are packed, no matter how many people are there. But, I think its good racing.”

Hamlin on the End of His No DNF Streak: “It’s always disappointing when you don’t finish a race, but I’ve been lucky to keep those types of finishes to a minimum with only two in my career. I guess I have to look back at my days driving late models to find where I learned the importance of taking care of the car out on the track. If you wrecked your car back then you didn’t race the next week. Fortunately the Bristol DNF doesn’t hurt us as far as the Chase is concerned and we’ll be ready to race for a win at California.”