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Denny Hamlin
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James Dennis Alan Hamlin, Jr. (born November 18, 1980 in Chesterfield, Virginia) is an American race car driver.
He currently drives the #11 Fedex Car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.
in began his racing career in 1988, at the age of 7 years old, racing go-karts. By 1997 at 15 he won the WKA manufacturers cup at the age of 16, he was racing Ministocks.
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Encyclopedia
James Dennis Alan Hamlin, Jr. (born November 18, 1980 in Chesterfield, Virginia) is an American race car driver.
He currently drives the #11 Fedex Car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.
Career
Racing prior to NASCAR
Hamlin began his racing career in 1988, at the age of 7 years old, racing go-karts. By 1997 at 15 he won the WKA manufacturers cup at the age of 16, he was racing Ministocks. In his first stock car race, at Langley Speedway, Hamlin won the pole position, and won the race. Denny progressed to the Grand Stock division in 1998, and moved on to Late Model Stock Cars in 2000. In 2002, he won ten Late Model races, and surpassed that in 2003 with 25 wins, and 30 poles, out of 36 races. In 2004, while competing full time in Late Model Stock Cars for Dean Motorsports, Hamlin caught the eye of Joe Gibbs Racing, who signed him to a driver development program.
NASCAR career
2004
In 2004, Hamlin competed in five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) races, and one NASCAR Busch Series race at Darlington Speedway. After starting 27th because of a rained out qualifying session, Hamlin patiently and methodically worked his way towards an 8th place finish, as well as a future at Joe Gibbs Racing.
2005
In 2005, Hamlin ran the full season after he replaced Mike Bliss in the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet running in the Nationwide Series. He ended up finishing 5th in the final championship points standings as a rookie in that series, with 11 top 10's and earnings of $1,064,110.00. Hamlin also ran his first Nextel Cup Series races in 2005, making his Cup debut at Kansas Speedway as driver of the #11 FedEx Chevrolet for the 2006 season, after struggling driver Jason Leffler was released. Hamlin went on to make seven starts in in the Cup series in 2005. He finished the Cup season with three Top 10 finishes in those seven starts and one pole at Phoenix International Raceway.
2006
In 2006, Hamlin ran his first full season in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, and during the year he drove in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series. In Hamlin's first restrictor plate race as a Nextel Cup driver, he scored an upset by beating all the previous year's (2005 season) pole winners in the 70-lap 2006 Budweiser Shootout. Hamlin became the first Rookie of the Year candidate to take home the Shootout victory. Hamlin achieved his first career Busch Series victory at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (March 5). Denny scored a second Busch Series win on May 12, 2006 at Darlington in the Diamond Hill Plywood 200. In May, during a break while testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Hamlin and several crew members were racing around their race trailer and timing themselves. During the horseplay, Hamlin severely injured his left hand between the pinkie and wrist, and had to get 19 stitches. Despite the injury, he still finished second at the Crown Royal 400 to Dale Earnhardt, Jr.. On June 11, Hamlin scored his first career Cup Series win at the Pocono 500, where he also won his second career pole. He achieved his second career win on July 23, in the Pennsylvania 500 also at Pocono Raceway becoming only the 2nd rookie in Nextel Cup history to sweep both races at a track during the same season (Jimmie Johnson did so at Dover International Speedway in his rookie season in 2002), both from the pole position. During the 2006 Cup season, Hamlin won three poles (Pocono 500, Pennsylvania 500, and Chevy Rock and Roll 400). In the Cup Series, Hamlin won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award and finished third in the final cup standings, scoring the highest points finish ever for a rookie in the modern era of NASCAR. Hamlin thus became the first ever rookie to make the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.
2007
Hamlin started the 2007 Cup season by finishing 28th in the Daytona 500. He won his third career cup race at the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Hamlin clinched a spot in the Chase for the Cup and was seeded sixth, 50 points behind the leader. Denny has had some misfortunes during the Chase for the Cup, including Contact with Kyle Petty that left him with a disappointing finish. At the end of the season at the Ford 400 at Homestead Miami Speedway, he finished 12th in points, 580 behind the Champion Jimmie Johnson.
In the Nationwide Series, Hamlin scored victory three time including Darlington, Michigan, and Dover in the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevy.
2008
Denny Hamlin drives the #11 FedEx Car for Joe Gibbs Racing
To start the season with the 50th annual Daytona 500 Hamlin finished 17th after his left rear quarterpanel was dislodged and was involved in wrecks that made him spend more time on pit road.
The season started off with many troubles. Hamlin also finished bad at Auto Club 500, wrecking from water spots left on the race track after rain. He finished a lap down both in the UAW-Dodge 400 and Kobalt Tools 500 because of bad qualifying efforts.
At the Goody's Cool Orange Hamlin qualified second for this race, the highest he has ever qualified this season. Staying up front and out of trouble, calling all the pits right gave Hamlin his 4th Sprint Cup Series victory.
At the Subway Fresh Fit 500 the #11 FedEx Kinko’s racecar is supporting the March of Dimes March for Babies for NASCAR’s April 12 race in Phoenix, AZ. The car’s new paint job was unveiled at FedEx Kinko’s Dallas, TX headquarters on April 2. As FedEx racing team driver, Denny Hamlin will have a racing uniform and helmet specially designed to show support for March for Babies. See the car here:
At the Dan Lowry 400 Hamlin qualified on the pole for this race. He dominated nearly the whole race leading 381 laps and setting a new record for most laps led. Denny had a late race tire issue, but instead of coming into the pits to change the tire, he elected to stay out. The caused him to wreck shortly after, ending his dominate day at Richmond.
| 2008 PreSeason Races |
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| # | Date | Race | Track | Start | Finish | Rank | Behind |
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| | 02/09/2008 | Budweiser Shootout | Daytona International Speedway | 12th | 9th | - | - | | | 02/14/2008 | Gatorade Duel - Race 2 | Daytona International Speedway | 5th | 1st | - | - | | 2008 Regular Season - Races 1 - 26 |
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| # | Date | Race | Track | Start | Finish | Rank | Behind |
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| 1 | 02/17/2008 | Daytona 500 | Daytona International Speedway | 4th | 17th | 15th | -73 | | 2 | 02/24/2008 | Auto Club 500 | Auto Club Speedway | 12th | 41st | 31st | -178 | | 3 | 03/02/2008 | UAW-Dodge 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | 27th | 9th | 20th | -196 | | 4 | 03/09/2008 | Kobalt Tools 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | 22nd | 15th | 19th | -252 | | 5 | 03/16/2008 | Food City 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway | 12th | 6th | 15th | -214 | | 6 | 03/30/2008 | Goody's Cool Orange 500 | Martinsville Speedway | 2nd | 1st | 8th | -157 | | 7 | 04/06/2008 | Samsung 500 | Texas Motor Speedway | 14th | 5th | 7th | -152 | | 8 | 04/12/2008 | Subway Fresh Fit 500 | Phoenix International Raceway | 16th | 3rd | 6th | -137 | | 9 | 04/27/2008 | Aaron's 499 | Talladega Superspeedway | 7th | 3rd | 4th | -99 | | 10 | 05/03/2008 | Dan Lowry 400 | Richmond International Raceway | 1st | 24th | 6th | -149 | | 11 | 05/10/2008 | Dodge Challenger 500 | Darlington Raceway | 21st | 7th | 4th | -190 | | | 05/17/2008 | NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race | Lowe's Motor Speedway | 20th | 23rd | - | - | | 12 | 05/25/2008 | Coca-Cola 600 | Lowe's Motor Speedway | 16th | 24th | 4th | -264 | | 13 | 06/01/2008 | Best Buy 400 Benefiting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks | Dover International Speedway | 33rd | 43rd | 9th | -420 | | 14 | 06/08/2008 | Pocono 500 | Pocono Raceway | 16th | 3rd | 5th | -284 | | 15 | 06/15/2008 | Lifelock 400 | Michigan International Speedway | 5th | 14th | 6th | -287 | | 16 | 06/22/2008 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | Infineon Raceway | 13th | 27th | 8th | -400 | | 17 | 06/29/2008 | LENOX Industrial Tools 301 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | 12th | 8th | 7th | -346 | | 18 | 07/05/2008 | Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola | Daytona International Speedway | 15th | 26th | 7th | -446 | | 19 | 07/12/2008 | LifeLock.com 400 | Chicagoland Speedway | 7th | 40th | 12th | -598 | | 20 | 07/27/2008 | Allstate 400 at The Brickyard | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | 23rd | 3rd | 8th | -551 | | 21 | 08/03/2008 | Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 | Pocono Raceway | 14th | 23rd | 10th | -512 | | 22 | 08/10/2008 | Centurion Boats at The Glen | Watkins Glen International | 10th | 8th | 9th | -565 | | 23 | 08/17/2008 | 3M Performance 400 presented by Bondo | Michigan International Speedway | 37th | 39th | 12th | -694 | | 24 | 08/23/2008 | Sharpie 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway | 21st | 3rd | 11th | -709 | | 25 | 08/31/2008 | Pepsi 500 | Auto Club Speedway | 21st | 3rd | 11th | -690 | | 26 | 09/07/2008 | Chevy Rock & Roll 400 | Richmond International Raceway | 11th | 3rd | 6th | -70 | | 2008 Chase for the Cup - Races 27 - 36 |
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| 27 | 09/14/2008 | Sylvania 300 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | 6th | 9th | | | | 28 | 09/21/2008 | Camping World RV 400 presented by AAA | Dover International Speedway | 3rd | 38th | | | | 29 | 09/28/2008 | Camping World RV 400 presented by Coleman | Kansas Speedway | 30th | 11th | | | | 30 | 10/05/2008 | Amp Energy 500 | Talladega Superspeedway | 36th | 39th | | | | 31 | 10/11/2008 | Bank of America 500 | Lowe's Motor Speedway | | | | | | 32 | 10/19/2008 | TUMS QuikPak 500 | Martinsville Speedway | | | | | | 33 | 10/26/2008 | Pep Boys Auto 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway | | | | | | 34 | 11/02/2008 | Dickies 500 | Texas Motor Speedway | | | | | | 35 | 11/09/2008 | Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil | Phoenix International Raceway | | | | | | 36 | 11/16/2008 | Ford 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | | | | |
- Red means the starting position based on 2007 owner points.
- Bold means the current best starting/finishing position (Denny Hamlin has both qualified and finished in the highest positions possible)
Races Won
Sprint Cup (4 career wins)
Sprint Cup Non-Points Awarding Wins
Nationwide Series (9 career wins)
Career NASCAR Teams
Sprint Cup
Nationwide Series
Craftman Truck Series
(Martinsville Mar. 2008)
Career NASCAR Statistics
| Year | Races | Wins | Poles | Top 5 | Top 10 | DNF | Finish | Start | Winnings | Season Rank | Team(s) |
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| 2005 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17.1 | 19.0 | $610,030 | 41 | Joe Gibbs Racing | | 2006 | 36 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 20 | 1 | 12.5 | 13.4 | $6,607,932 | 3 | Joe Gibbs Racing | | 2007 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 18 | 1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | $5,897,693 | 12 | Joe Gibbs Racing | | 2008 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 18 | 2 | 15.3 | 15.3 | $5,494,360
| 8 | Joe Gibbs Racing | | 2009 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18.0 | 22.3 | $535,113
| 14 | Joe Gibbs Racing | | | | Totals | 118 | 4 | 6 | 32 | 60 | 4 | 14.3 | 14.2 | $20,564,248 | |
Data as of March, 07
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