RACE INFO:
Event: Sprint All-Star Challenge
Date/Time: May 17, 2008/ 9 p.m. EST
Length: 1.5 miles
Shape: Quad-Oval
Banking: 24 degrees
2007 winner: Kevin Harvick
EXPRESS NOTES:
Top Ten at Darlington for Hamlin, FedEx Racing: Denny Hamlin and the #11 team continued their climb up the standings with an impressive seventh-place finish at Darlington (S.C) Raceway Saturday night. After starting 21st, Hamlin methodically worked his way to the front to lead 15 laps but, with leading comes the responsibility of deciding whether to pit or stay out. That decision came for the #11 team on lap 248 and they chose fuel and fresh rubber and fuel, while several others made the decision to stay on track. Restarting back in the pack, Hamlin made his way forward but never recovered from the loss of track position. The seventh-place finish continues his streak of top-ten runs at the famous track.
Hamlin at All-Star Weekend: This will be Hamlin’s third appearance at NASCAR’s All-Star Weekend and he'll start the All-Star Challenge by virtue of his win at New Hampshire in July of 2007. Hamlin made his first All-Star race appearance last year and had the #11 FedEx machine running well before a lap 63 incident with Casey Mears cut the night short. As a rookie in n the 2006 NEXTEL Open, Hamlin started second on the grid and led one lap before finishing fourth and missing a spot in NEXTEL All-Star Challenge.
Hamlin at Charlotte: Hamlin has secured three top-ten finishes in his five Cup point’s races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Charlotte Chassis 189 & 204: Chassis 189 will make the short trip from Huntersville to Concord this weekend and carry the FedEx Freight livery this weekend. This will be the third start of the season for this car. It made its debut at Atlanta where Hamlin qualified 22nd and finished 15th, then finished fifth at Texas. 204 will also be on the truck this weekend. It finished ninth at Las Vegas earlier this season.
HAMLIN CONVERSATION - SPRINT ALL-STAR WEEKEND:
What is unique about this All-Star Event? "This is a fun weekend for us. It's a great event for the fans and for the teams also. You see a lot of the crew members with their families at the track because it's close to home for us. We spend a lot of time on the road during the season between race weekends and testing so I am really happy for the guys on the crew to be home for a couple of weeks - they get to make up for some missed little league games and little things like driving the kids to school. I really can't thank the guys on our "A" team enough. They build me great cars each and every week and they sacrifice a lot to do it. In a lot of ways this week becomes a tribute to the crews and it's well deserved."
Pride not points - How do you approach this weekend? "The fact that we aren’t racing for points really changes the race. But I think the whole idea that you are throwing caution to the wind is played up a little too much - it almost makes it seem like we are all out there taking it easy on the average weekend. Coming off of Darlington last weekend, I can assure there was nothing easy about it. The fact that we are not racing for points makes a difference when it comes to taking little risks here and there over the course of the race. On the average weekend you are on a knife edge a lot, but you have to keep in mind that a DNF will undo a lot of progress. Here you might purposely put the car in a riskier situation but I can assure you - and all the guys at the shop and J.D. (Gibbs) too -that we’re not in the business of tearing up equipment."
The #11 crew has been reliably, and quietly, stellar this season. "They've been awesome. It's a team that has really gelled and it's showing on pit road. They are regularly picking up spots on pit road and that's the best case scenario for me. Everyone is doing their part and it's showing. This is still a relatively new team as this sport goes so it's just taken a little time to get everyone in the right place. Mike (Ford) has really taken an active role in that aspect of planning and putting together a team because as a former over the wall crew member, he has a very clear picture of how it should work. All of it is coming together and that bodes well for the team. I wish those guys the best in the crew competition and I look forward to them showing their stuff for the rest of the season."
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