Denny Hamlin Driver, #11 Fedex Toyota Camry
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DENNY HAMLIN DRIVER, #11 FEDEX TOYOTA CAMRY Birthdate : November 18, 1980 Hometown : Chesterfield, Va. Resides : Cornelius, N.C. Height : 6’0” Weight : 170lbs Marital Status : Single Favorite Driver : Bill Elliott Denny Hamlin takes the wheel of #11 FedEx Toyota Camry in 2008 for his third full NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and with every intention of building on the successful foundation of two Chase for the Cup runs. Hamlin’s rise to his position as one of NASCAR’s brightest young stars has been nothing short of meteoric. Through 79 career Cup starts, Hamlin has amassed a total of three wins, five poles and has finished in the top-ten in over half of his starts. Perhaps his most impressive statistic, though, is the fact that in that time he has recorded only two DNF’s – his commitment to preserving his equipment firmly rooted in his formative years of racing. Hamlin’s 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season built on a wildly successful 2006 campaign and helped solidify the #11 team’s status as a perennial championship contender. Hamlin quickly allayed fears that he would fall victim to the dreaded “sophomore slump” by kicking off the season with a string of solid results that catapulted him into the top- five in points. Hamlin’s lone win of the 2007 came at New Hampshire International in July, however on several occasions in 2007, dominating performances by Hamlin and the team were nullified by pit road mishaps, mechanical problems or penalties, yet the #11 team still maintained championship aspirations and a place near the top of the standings. Though he didn’t win another race in 2007, Hamlin recorded 12 top-five and 18 top-ten finishes and qualified easily for the Chase for the Nextel Cup before ultimately settling for 12 th place in the points. Hamlin also showed that both he and the team were ready to make the transition to the Car of Tomorrow. In 2006 Hamlin burst on the scene with his win at the prestigious Bud Shootout at Daytona and carried that early momentum into one of the most successful rookie campaigns in NASCAR history. On his way to becoming the first ever rookie to earn a spot in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, Hamlin posted his first career Nextel Cup win in dominating style at Pocono Raceway. He captured three Bud Pole awards in 2006 – taking the honors at both Pocono races and then made the Chase in grand fashion by winning the pole in front of his hometown fans at Richmond International Raceway. At the same time Hamlin was named the 2006 Denny Hamlin (age 11) with Coach Raybestos Rookie of the Year, he was sealing an impressive third place Joe Gibbs – 1991 finish in the 2006 season standings and earning a place in the record books alongside notable rookies like Earnhardt, Allison, Stewart and Johnson. In 2005, with Hamlin on his way to a fifth place finish in his rookie Busch campaign, he was offered the unexpected opportunity to run the #11 FedEx Chevrolet at the end of the Nextel Cup Series schedule. Hamlin wasted no time in displaying his talent and comfort in the Cup cars, posting three top-ten finishes in seven starts and winning the pole at Phoenix. His performances over the seven races he ran at the end of 2005 made him an easy choice for the #11 FedEx Chevy for 2006. In addition to his success at the Cup level, Hamlin has put together an impressive resume in the Busch Series as well. Hamlin spent nearly three full seasons behind the wheel of the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet, racking up five wins and eleven poles. He’ll return to the Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2007 on a limited schedule. Hamlin’s knack for making a good early impression was not limited to the Cup Series. In his first Craftsman Truck Series race, Hamlin drove the Gibbs Performance Chevrolet to a tenth-place finish in the Power Stroke Diesel 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Aug. 6, 2004. Three months later, Hamlin made his Busch Series debut in the BI-LO 200 at Darlington Raceway, turning heads with an eighth-place finish in the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Performance Racing Oil Chevrolet While Hamlin now finds himself racing at the highest level of NASCAR, he has been winning races since the early age of seven when he began his career racing karts in the Junior Sportsman League. From the cart tracks of Virginia to the Nextel Cup, Hamlin has proven he can succeed at any level. In 2000, Hamlin was named Rookie of the Year at Southside Speedway in Richmond, Va., posting 18 top-ten and 11 top-five finishes that season, ranking him among the top-five in final point standings. Just three years later Hamlin winning the Bud Pole in 2003, Hamlin celebrated his finest season, posting 25 wins, 30 poles and 33 in his sixth career start top-five finishes. His performances caught the eye of Joe Gibbs Racing and – Nov. 2005 he was among the first drivers to sign with JGR in a developmental capacity. In 1997, at age 16 and on the same day he received his drivers license, Hamlin hit the track for his first season driving a Mini Stock car. The year was a resounding success as Hamlin became the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Mini Stock track championship at Langley Speedway and he was subsequently named the 1997 NASCAR Mini Stock Rookie of the Year. Hamlin still holds the NASCAR Mini Stock track record at Langley Speedway with a time of 18.025. At age 12, he was dominating in the Junior Restricted League, over time earning the titles Amelia Motor Raceway Track Champion (Junior Restricted), Virginia Dirt Karting Association State Champion (Junior Champ) and World Karting Association Virginia Dirt Series State Champion (Junior Champ). Hamlin finished an eight-year Kart career at age 15 with 127 feature wins and five championships in three classes. Hamlin at his Craftsman Away from the track Hamlin enjoys spending time with friends, following Truck Series Debut Washington Redskins and Virginia Tech football, boating, traveling, skiing, – Aug, 2004 playing cards and competing in online racing leagues. MIKE FORD CREW CHIEF, #11 FEDEX TOYOTA CAMRY Birth date : April 13, 1970 Hometown : Morristown, Tenn. Residence : Stanley, N.C Spouse: Robin Children: Alec, Austin Mike Ford returns to the helm of FedEx Racing as the crew chief of the #11 FedEx Toyota Camry driven by Denny Hamlin in 2008, looking to build on the successes of 2006 and 2007 and bring a NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship to the team he helped resuscitate in 2005. The 2007 season proved the #11 FedEx Racing team is capable of running up front each and every week. Challenging for the lead in points for most of the season, only a combination of bad luck and missed opportunities kept the team from enjoying even greater success. After qualifying for the 2007 Chase, however, the team couldn’t duplicate their head-turning performance in the 2006 Chase and Hamlin would finish the season in 12 th place. Despite the disappointing end to an otherwise great season, Ford was named the DirecTV Crew Chief of the Year for the second consecutive season. Ford also collected the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year Award. Ford enjoyed a career-best year in charge of the #11 team in 2006 and nearly led the team to a NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship while scoring two wins, three poles and a third-place finish in the points standings. As Hamlin collected awards for his outstanding season, the rookie driver was never short on praise for Ford who provides a constant, calming influence on driver and team, while proving to be an expert race manager. Ford joined Joe Gibbs Racing in June of 2005 and led the #11 team for the final 23 races of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. In that time, Ford worked with the team to record the program’s best run of results, including four top-ten finishes in the last 11 races and a Bud Pole Award at Phoenix on Nov. 13. Ford almost immediately clicked with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Busch Series driver Denny Hamlin as he made his first start in the Nextel Cup Series and secured the seat in the #11 FedEx Chevrolet for 2006. Prior to joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005, Ford served as crew chief for the #88 Robert Yates Racing team and driver Dale Jarrett. Ford rejoined the program he had led to the championship in 1999 with the goal of breathing much needed life into a team that had yet to find sustained success. Ford proved he was up to the challenge as he coached Jarrett to four top-three finishes at some of NASCAR’s most prestigious races. Ford joined Evernham Motorsports in 2000 as crew chief of Bill Elliott’s team, taking Elliott back to victory lane and vaulting him into the top-10 in driver points by the end of the 2003 season. Ford brings 15 years of racing experience to the FedEx team on top of formal professional training from AMI, a technical school in Charlotte, NC. During his first spell with Robert Yates Racing from the end of 1995 to 1999, Ford was instrumental in the #88 team’s success, resulting in 18 wins, 80 top-five finishes, 95 top-10 finishes and the 1999 NASCAR Championship. 2008 #11 FEDEX RACING TEAM – CREW ROSTER Name Position Hometown Mike Ford Crew Chief Morristown, N.C.