Kansas Win: Denny Hamlin earned his first win of the 2023 season with last Sunday’s victory at Kansas Speedway. It was the FedEx Racing driver’s 49th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, tying him with Tony Stewart for 15th on the all-time wins list. Sunday’s win was also Hamlin’s fourth at Kansas, making him the all-time wins leader at the 1.5-mile track.
Darlington Notes: Hamlin made his first start for Joe Gibbs Racing at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in November 2004. That day, he started 27th and raced his way to an eighth-place finish. Since then, he has posted four Cup Series wins at Darlington – most amongst active drivers – and five Xfinity Series victories. Hamlin has two wins and five top-five finishes in the past seven Darlington races dating back to May 2020. Additionally, his 7.5-average finishing position is the best all-time amongst drivers with more than two starts at the Track Too Tough to Tame.
White Hot: Over the past four races, Hamlin leads the Cup Series with a 6.8-average finishing position and 165 points scored. During that stretch, the Chesterfield, Virginia native has recorded one win and three top-five finishes.
Hamlin Statistics
Track: Darlington Raceway
Races: 21
Wins: 4
Poles: 4
Top-5: 12
Top-10: 16
Laps Led: 792
Avg. Start: 9.2
Avg. Finish: 7.5
Hamlin Conversation – Darlington
What makes you so good at Darlington?
“It’s a tough track mentally and physically. It’s a driver’s track because the driver can make a difference at Darlington. You can manipulate the way your car is handling based on the line you choose to run. There’s something about it that has always matched my style of driving no matter what type of car we’re racing, so I anticipate we’ll have a really good shot at contending this weekend.”
Federal Express Along for the Ride at Darlington Raceway: For NASCAR Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway, Hamlin’s No. 11 Federal Express Toyota Camry TRD will feature 1973 on the b-post to recognize the year that FedEx was founded. This weekend’s Federal Express Camry bears the original logo from when the company delivered the first-ever FedEx overnight package 50 years ago.
Joe Gibbs Racing PR
