Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team rolled the dice on Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway – using pit road strategy to score an impressive sixth-place finish in the Subway Fresh Fit 500.  With ten laps to go and the race under caution, Crew Chief Mike Ford called for two tires only, and Hamlin lined up the #11 FedEx Office/March for Babies Toyota in fourth place for the restart.  Hamlin then did his best to hang on as the competitors on four fresh tires closed in, ultimately bringing the car home in sixth place on a night that saw Ford and the entire crew shine throughout.


As Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Office/March for Babies Toyota to the garage following the race he applauded his crew’s efforts.  “Guys - I just want to thank you for super pit work all night,” proclaimed Hamlin.  “You were great – you got us a lot of positions tonight.”


Mark Martin started the evening from the pole and led 157 laps on his way to capturing his first win with Hendrick Motorsports and the 36th win of his illustrious career.  Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle filled out the top five while Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano finished 17th and 21st, respectively. 


Jeff Gordon retained his position at the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings and leads three-time defending champion Johnson by 85 points. Hamlin moved up one spot in the points race to fifth place - 154 points behind Gordon heading to the 2.66 mile high-banked Talladega Superspeedway. 


“It was up and down tonight,” added Hamlin.  “We were good at the beginning, not so good in the middle and decent at the end.  It just felt tight all night -- just couldn’t get it out of it.  It was a fight for our team.  We just struggled a little bit but in the end the FedEx Office/March for Babies Toyota placed pretty well.”


When the green flag waved, Hamlin patiently worked his way forward from his starting position of 12th and his measured driving had had him running in tenth place 15 laps in.  By lap 35 he had climbed up to seventh place.


Hamlin battled a car that “needs forward bite” and a car that ran significantly better in the shade than it did in the sun as he dealt with the tricky track conditions at Phoenix International.


The first yellow of the night flew on lap 54 and Hamlin pulled the #11 FedEx Office/March of Dimes Toyota on to pit road.  The crew bolted on four tires, added two cans of fuel and made a track bar adjustment in a lightening-fast 13.53 seconds to send Hamlin to restart third – his best running position of the night.


On lap 100 Hamlin ran in fifth place, 5.1 seconds behind Martin, and held that spot until the second caution of the night flew only two laps later. Hamlin entered the pits in fifth place and one again picked up positions on account of a great stop by the FedEx crew.


At the halfway point of the event Hamlin was running in ninth place and thought he might have a right front tire going down after making slight contact with both Johnson and Gordon.  Ultimately he did not have a tire problem but he did struggle with a car that had grown “really, really tight” as the race went on and darkness descended upon the track.


On lap 165, the fifth yellow of the night led to Hamlin’s fourth pit stop and this time strategy, even though the team had a fast stop, worked against Hamlin who took four tires while a handful of other teams took only two.


Hamlin lined up in 20th place for the lap 171 restart, his lowest position of the night, but by lap 200 he had carved his way into 15th place.  With 100 laps to go he was running in 14th and trailed leader Dale Earnhardt, Jr. by 14.2 seconds but another quick pit stop on lap 241 put Hamlin back in the top 12 and by lap 250 he was running in tenth place.


More patient driving kept Hamlin and the FedEx team on the move and he was scored in eighth place on lap 280 – passing Earnhardt Jr for the position.  He would remain in eighth until Earnhardt crashed on lap 302 to bring out the final caution of the evening.


Ford and the crew opted for two tires only and it paid off immediately as Hamlin exited the pits in fifth place, and then claimed the fourth position as Kyle Busch was penalized for a pit road speed violation.


The green flew for the final time with just six laps to go and Ryan Newman, who did not pit, led Martin, Stewart, Hamlin, Busch and Johnson to the green flag.  Newman was swallowed up by the competition immediately and Hamlin fought valiantly as Johnson and Biffle – both on four fresh tires – caught and passed him over the closing laps.