DENNY HAMLIN - DRIVER #11 CAR
Birthdate: November 18, 1980
Hometown: Chesterfield, VA
Residence: Cornelius, NC
Marital Status: Single
Height: 6'0"
Cup Wins: 8
Denny Hamlin is currently competing in his fourth full season behind the wheel of the #11 FedEx Toyota Camry, looking to build on the success he has enjoyed to date while continuing his evolution from perennial Chase for the Sprint Cup contender to Sprint Cup Champion.
Heading into the 2009 season, Hamlin had amassed 115 career starts at the Cup level, scored four wins, six poles and has finished in the top-ten in over half of his starts.
The 2008 Sprint Cup season was, by any definition, a season of change. As Joe Gibbs Racing made the move to Toyota, the Cup Series made the full-time move to the Car of Tomorrow, and Hamlin welcomed Kyle Busch as a teammate, the #11 FedEx team was hoping that change would also come in the form of a serious Championship effort. Despite making the Chase for the NASCAR Cup in both 2006 & 2007 the onus was on the team to translate regular season success into a successful Chase effort.
The spring race at Richmond International highlighted both the satisfaction of fully dominating an event and the speed with which that dominance can be undone. Hamlin started the 400-lap event from the pole and led an impressive 381 laps before a cut tire forced him to pit road with only 19 laps to go.
A win on a cold, rainy day in Martinsville earned Hamlin his sole Cup triumph of the 2008 season and a long-coveted Martinsville Grandfather clock. As Hamlin marched to his third consecutive Chase, the team was hoping to avoid the letdown that marked the 2007 edition but alas, it was not to be. After mechanical failure in Dover and a tremendous hit following a cut tire at Talladega, Hamlin was all but eliminated from championship contention and finished the year in eighth-place.
The 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season built on a wildly successful 2006 campaign and helped solidify Hamlin and 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 season came at New Hampshire International in July when a late-race two-tire change gave him the track position he needed and the opportunity to hold off Jeff Gordon for the win. 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 12th place in the points.
In 2006, Hamlin burst on the scene with a 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 honor 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. Hamlin was named the 2006 Raybestos Rookie of the Year, and earned an impressive third-place finish in the season standings.
With Hamlin on his way to a fifth place finish in his rookie Busch Series campaign, he was offered the unexpected opportunity to run the #11 FedEx Chevrolet at the end of the 2005 Nextel Cup season. Hamlin wasted no time in displaying his talent, 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 to fill the seat of the #11 FedEx Chevy for 2006.
In addition to his success at the Cup level, Hamlin has put together an impressive resume in the Nationwide Series. Hamlin made his debut in 2004 and spent nearly three full seasons behind the wheel of the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet for JGR before making the transition to the Toyotas, fielded by both JGR and Braun Racing, for the 2008 season. In 122 total starts, Hamlin has racked up nine wins and 12 poles, cutting a figure as one of the Series top drivers.
Hamlin’s ascension to the highest levels of NASCAR came through a combination of skill, perseverance, a little bit of luck and a knack for delivering strong performances when given the opportunity. Each of Hamlin's "debuts" have come with caveats of additional opportunities (in the form of more races or permanent employment) should he meet or beat expectations and he has absolutely shone in those instances. 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, making his Busch Series debut in the BI-LO 200 at Darlington Raceway, he recorded 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 age of seven when he began his career racing karts in the Junior Sportsman League. From the kart tracks of Virginia to the Sprint 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. Just three years later, Hamlin celebrated his finest season in Late Models, posting 25 wins, 30 poles and 33 top-five finishes.
In 1997, at age 16, 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 was 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 seconds.
By age 12, he was dominating in the Junior Restricted League, 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 his Kart career at age 15 with 127 feature wins and five championships in three classes.
Away from the track Hamlin enjoys working out, spending time with friends, boating, skiing, playing cards and traveling.