RACE INFO:
Event: Kobalt Tools 500
Date/Time: March 8, 2009/2 p.m.
2008 winner: Kyle Busch
2008 pole winner: Jeff Gordon
Distance: 325 laps/500.5 miles
Track Length: 1.54 miles
Banking: 24 degrees
Track Shape: Quad Oval
EXPRESS NOTES:
Vegas in the Rear View: Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team scored a frustrating 22nd-place finish at Las Vegas last weekend. Despite suffering a lap-three incident that caused damage to the right front of the car, Hamlin had a very competitive car and ran in the top-ten for parts of the afternoon. Unfortunately, a lap 172 spin further damaged the car and ultimately forced Hamlin a lap down before the end. Hamlin gains one spot in the standings heading to Atlanta and currently sits in 14th place – 127 points behind Jeff Gordon in first.
Hamlin at Atlanta Motor Speedway: This weekend will mark Hamlin's eighth career Cup start at Atlanta Motor Speedway and 119th career Sprint Cup start. Last fall, Hamlin led 56 laps leading into the ninth caution of the day, but couldn’t hold off the charge of Carl Edwards as the #99 passed on the restart. Hamlin broke loose under pressure from Jimmie Johnson on the final lap but held on to finish third. In the spring of 2008, Hamlin turned in a 15th-place finish after losing his power steering with more than 100 laps to run. Despite the loss of the mechanical aid, Hamlin gained five spots over the closing laps. During the fall race of 2007, Hamlin and the FedEx team fell victim to water that had collected in the fuel tank over the course of the event and it ultimately stalled the #11 while Hamlin brought the field to the green flag during a late race restart. The water, found in the tanks providing fuel to all of the competitors during the race, had displaced fuel in the tank of the #11 car and skewed the team's fuel calculations and left Hamlin to finish 24th. Perhaps Hamlin's best outing at AMS came in the spring of 2006 when the #11 was the fastest car on the track early in the race, leading four times for a total of 16 laps, before a loose wheel forced him off the lead lap and caused him to finish 31st. Hamlin's posted an impressive eighth-place finish as rookie in the fall of 2006.
FedEx Home Delivery – New England Region “Along for the Ride” in Atlanta: The #11 FedEx Ground Camry will feature “QNEG” on the wing caps this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. QNEG is the code for the FedEx Home Delivery - New England Region and the group is being recognized for leading all FedEx Ground regions in customer service scores.
ATLANTA CHASSIS – JGR 196 & 222: The team will unload car 196 this weekend in Atlanta. This is the first race of the 2009 campaign for this car, though it had four starts in 2009 – posting top-ten finishes at Darlington and Pocono. JGR 222 will serve in backup at Atlanta. This car posted third-place finishes at both Auto Club and Indy during the 2008 season.
HAMLIN CONVERSATION – ATLANTA:
Atlanta has been a mixed bag for the #11 FedEx team – what is it about this track?: “We’ve had some good races at Atlanta but don’t have a win to show for it. Two years ago we made the decision to stay out and restart in the lead but that was when we had the water in the fuel tank and the car stalled Last season I led a bunch of laps and had the chance to win it at the end but just couldn’t hold off the #99 on the restart. It’s taken some time to really figure this place out but we have good cars and I think it’s just a matter of time before we put all of the pieces together. Handling seems to be the biggest issue at Atlanta. It’s such a fast track, it has a lot of grip and the track changes a lot over the course of the race. It seems you end up battling your car and trying to find a place where your car works well. We’ll have to respond the best we can to the changing conditions, and hopefully we can make the right adjustments to make sure we have the car at it’s best for the end.”
Three races into the season – where does the #11 FedEx team stand?: “That first month of the season is a grind so I think we are all happy to have Daytona and the trip out west for two races behind us. It’s good for everyone to get home, get back on a normal race schedule and that really starts now as we head to Atlanta. As far as on track I think we were unlucky not to finish better at Daytona - we had a great car and we would have been a factor at the end if not for the wreck. We ran really good at California and then had a good car at Vegas but had some damage early and then couldn’t get track position. We’d like to have some better finishes for sure but the season is just getting starting. We’re focused - the results will start coming.”
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