FEDEX RACING EXPRESS FACTS
DARLINGTON RACEWAY

RACE INFO:
Event: Dodge Avenger 500
Date/Time: May 12, 2007 / 7 p.m. ET
Length: 1.366 miles
Shape: Oval
Banking: 25/23 degrees
Distance: 367 laps/500 miles
2006 winner: Greg Biffle
2006 polesitter: Kasey Kahne

EXPRESS NOTES:
COT Success Continues; Hamlin Posts Third-Place Finish at Richmond: Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx team turned-in another strong Car of Tomorrow performance, and led laps (12) for the fourth time in the last five races before securing a fourth top-five finish of the season. Hamlin’s sophomore season success has him fourth in points through the first ten races of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series schedule.

Hamlin at Darlington Raceway: Playing off his previous Busch series success at Darlington Raceway, Hamlin secured a top-ten finish in his first-ever NNCS start at Darlington Raceway in 2006. This will be Hamlin’s fifth start overall, and his second NNCS start at Darlington. Hamlin has secured top-ten finishes in all four races he has started at this track; including one Busch series win (2006). After winning last May’s Busch series race on Friday night, Hamlin took his momentum into Saturday’s NEXTEL Cup-Dodge Charger 500 and ran in the top five for the first half of the race before negotiating handling issues and a cooling track to secure a 10th-place finish in his Cup debut at Darlington.

This track played a big role in getting Hamlin into a Busch and Cup series ride at Joe Gibbs Racing as well. JGR signed Hamlin to a developmental contract in 2004 and gave him a limited tryout in selected Busch and Craftsman Truck Series starts. Just three months after turning in a top-ten debut in the Truck Series at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Denny lined up for his first Busch series race at one of NASCAR’s trickiest tracks. Despite the odds against him, he turned a lot of heads as he posted a top-ten finish in his Darlington debut.

Express Fact: Hamlin has led laps in all four COT races and has finished in the top-5 in three of the four COT races this year. Hamlin’s 2007 average starting position with the COT (5.0) is second best behind Jeff Gordon, and Hamlin’s average finish (5.8) in the COT ranks him fourth.

Mother’s Day at Darlington: For the second consecutive year, Hamlin’s mom, Mary Lou Hamlin, will join the moms of other NEXTEL Cup drivers as the Grand Marshals for Saturday’s race. Prior to the race, the moms will be introduced with their sons on stage and will then team up to give the command to start engines.

“I know I can speak for a lot of the guys out here when I say that without my mom’s support and sacrifice I wouldn’t be here today doing what I love,” said Hamlin. “She continues to give me confidence and keeps me grounded when I need it. I’m thankful for her everyday and it’s always comforting knowing that she is crossing her fingers every time she watches me race.”

Darlington Raceway Chassis JGR 166 and JGR 158: Chassis 166 is a new Car of Tomorrow chassis from the Joe Gibbs Racing stable. Backup chassis 158 has yet to make a NNCS start, but has served as the back up for all four COT races this season.

QUOTES:
Hamlin on Darlington Raceway: “I think running here will be a big test for this Car of Tomorrow. This track is hard to tackle in the old Cup car with ten years of notes, so it will no doubt be a challenge to get this car right. This FedEx team has had the advantage of being really good off the truck at COT races, but I am guessing we’ll use every minute possible in practice to work on the car. We know qualifying will be really important because we’ve seen that it can be hard to pass in this new car so between the track and the car, we’ll have our work cut out for us at Darlington.”

“After seeing some chances to win at places like Bristol and Phoenix slip away we would like nothing more than to win one of these races. It says a lot about how far this team has come to be talking about wins over third place finishes but we feel like we are a team to beat this year. Based on how our COT has performed so far this year, if we stick to our strategy of being patient and conserving tires here, we feel good about our chances this week.“