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RAB Racing with Brack Maggard is a team that competes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series and formerly the ARCA Racing Series. It is co-owned by former NASCAR driver Robert A. Benton Sr. and his son Robert Jr. along with Georgia businessman and Southern Pan Services founder Brack Maggard and was founded in 2005. They currently field the #99 American Ethanol/Boost Mobile/Grime Boss Toyota Camry for Kenny Wallace, Travis Pastrana, and Ryan Truex in Nationwide and the #09 Toyota Tundra for John Wes Townley in the Truck Series.

ARCA History[link]

After leaving the drivers seat and having a 8 year stint as a crew member for Robert Yates Racing, Robert Benton decided to start his own race team in 2005 in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. The team first hired young Georgia native Walt Brannen to drive their #65 for a few races wth little success. Brannen was released as RAB stepped up to a full-time schedule with Justin Marks and Damon Lusk splitting the #65 Construct Corps/Crocs Dodge. The duo would earn a pole, two top fives and nine top tens. Marks ran the full 2007 season with RAB and ended the season fifth in points with a pole, four top fives, and ten top tens.

Nationwide Series[link]

Car #99 History[link]

With Marks moving up to the NASCARCamping World Truck Series with Germain Racing, RAB hired John Wes Townley for 2008 to drive seven races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Townley brought Zaxby's sponsorship on board, and team changed manufacturers to Ford. Townley's new number would be 09. RAB and Townley ended the 2008 ARCA season 7th in points. On the Nationwide side, RAB qualified for three of their 7 scheduled races with a best finish of 27th in Charlotte.

In 2009, RAB moved up to the Nationwide Series full time, running with Townley for Rookie of the Year honors. Townley had a decent year, finishing 23rd in points but amassing no top-15 finishes. Also in 2009, RAB hired Boris Said to run at Watkins Glen and Montreal with a best finish of 11th at Watkins Glen. Travis Kvapil ran at Richmond and finished 20th.

Townley left RAB at the end of 2009 for Richard Childress Racing, and the team announced it would run as much of the 2010 season as possible with Scott Riggs. However, the team only ran the first five races of the year before replacing Riggs with a many other drivers including Jason Bowles, Chad McCumbee, Patrick Sheltra, Hermie Sadler, Sean Caisse, Robb Brent, Ken Schrader, Kevin Hamlin, and Landon Cassill. "Road Course Ringer" Boris Said drove for RAB at Watkins Glen and Montreal. In Montreal, Said held off another road course ace, Max Papis, in a photo finish to give RAB its first win in any division. Townley returned to the team for a few races, but left before Richmond. The team then hired former Braun Racing driver Brian Scott to drive the #09 car at Kansas. Scott drove the rest of the season and finished runner-up to Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. for ROTY. Scott left for Joe Gibbs Racing at season's end.

Veteran Kenny Wallace drove in 2011 with sponsorship from the University of Northwestern Ohio, Federated Auto Parts, Family Farmers, and G-Oil. To save Benton the expense of running the team, Wallace ran the season without pay. Wallace's season rebounded, with 11 top-10s and a best finish of 5th at Richmond, resulting in a 7th place points finish. Wallace returned to RAB for the 2012 season, but is running with sponsorship only from American Ethanol and Family Farmers. After California, the team was unable to come up with sponsorship for Wallace to run in Texas, and Ryan Truex who brought sponsorship from Grime Boss drove instead.The team changed numbers from the #09 to the #99 and Travis Pastrana will run a limited schedule for the team.

Camping World Truck Series[link]

History[link]

For 2012, RAB created a Truck team intended to be fielded for John Wes Townley. However, Townley was cited with a DUI before Speedweeks, resulting in his suspension by RAB. Townley was replaced by Travis Kvapil for Daytona.

External links[link]

• RAB Racing website

Kenneth Wallace
Wallace with his wife Kim in 2001
Born	(1963-08-23) August 23, 1963 (age 48) St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Awards	1986 ASA National Tour Rookie of the Year 1989 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year 1991, 1994, 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
344 race(s) run over 18 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 09 (RAB Racing)
Best finish	22nd - 1999
First race	1990 First Union 400 (North Wilkesboro)
Last race	2008 AMP Energy 500 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 27 3
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
528 race(s) run over 23 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 99 (RAB Racing)
2011 position	7th
Best finish	2nd - 1991
First race	1988 Advance Auto 150 (Martinsville)
Last race	2012 Aaron's 312 (Talladega)
First win	1991 Spring 200 (Volusia County)
Last win	2001 Sam's Club 200 (Rockingham)
Wins Top tens Poles 9 172 10
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
11 race(s) run over 4 year(s)
Best finish	34th - 1996
First race	1995 Goody's 150 (Martinsville)
Last race	2008 Lucas Oil 150 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles 0- 4 0
NASCAR Canadian Tire Series career
1 race(s) run over 1 year(s)
Best finish	62nd - 2003
First race	2003 Canada Day Shootout (Cayuga)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of May 5, 2012.

Kenneth Wallace (born August 23, 1963) is an American stock car driver who currently drives the #99 Family Farmers/University of Northwestern Ohio/Federated Auto Parts/American Ethanol/Iowa Corn/G-Oil/Marquis Energy Toyota Camry for RAB Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. In addition, he works as an on-air personality for SPEED on NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane.

Early life[link]

Wallace is the youngest of three brothers born to Russ and Judy Wallace. Russ was a prolific race winner himself, which made him unpopular with fans. Wallace earned his nickname, "Herman," early in life when Lake Hill Speedway promoter Bob Miller made note of Wallace's boisterous behavior when taking up for his father, likening him to the mischievous cartoon character Herman the German.^[1] He went to Fox High School in Arnold, MO.

Wallace began his racing career by working as a mechanic on his father's race cars and brother's team. He entered his first race, the Illinois Street Stock State Championship, in 1982, winning the event. This victory sparked Wallace's driving career, and he entered the American Speed Association in 1986, achieving Rookie of the Year honors in the series.^[2]

Early Busch career[link]

In September 1988, Dale Earnhardt gave Wallace the seat for his first-ever NASCAR start, in which he finished eleventh in the Busch Series race at Martinsville Speedway, driving the #8 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet.^[3] The following year, he raced the full Busch Series schedule in a car owned by brother Rusty Wallace,^[4] sponsored by Cox Treated Lumber earning the 1989 Rookie of the Year award and finishing sixth in driver point standings.^[5] In 1990, he made his Winston Cup debut at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the #36 Pontiac for Randy Cox, finishing 26th after a late-race crash.^[5] He finished seventh in the Busch Series.^[5] The following season, he won his first two career races and finished a career-best second in the Busch points, and subbed for Kyle Petty in two races in the Cup series.^[5] At the Pyroil 500, he competed against his brothers Mike and Rusty, marking the first time since Bob, Fonty, and Tim Flock raced that three brothers competed in the same race. In 1992, Dirt Devil became his sponsor and he won his third Busch race of his career, but several mechanical problems forced him down to sixth in points.^[5]

1993–2000[link]

In 1993, Wallace moved up to the Winston Cup Series full-time, driving the #40 Dirt Devil Pontiac Grand Prix for SABCO Racing.^[5] The team got a considerable amount of television time as the team was featured on the TV Show What Would You Do?. He had three top-tens and a twenty-third place points finish,^[5] but lost his ride at the end of the season. He returned to the Busch Series to drive the #8 TIC Financial Systems Ford for FILMAR Racing. He picked up three wins and finished fourth in points.^[5] Towards the end of the season, he was hired by Robert Yates Racing to replace the injured Ernie Irvan in the Cup series.^[6] In twelve races, he finished in the top-ten three times.^[5] In 1995, Wallace and FILMAR split time between the Cup and Busch Series. Wallace had one win with the Red Dog Ford in the Busch Series, and made eleven starts in the Cup Series in the #81 car.^[5]

Wallace and FILMAR began racing in Cup full-time 1996 with funding from Square D. They had two top-ten finishes and a twenty-eighth place points finish.^[5] The following season, he won two poles, at Bristol and Martinsville respectively,^[7] but fell five spots in the standings. Despite seven top-tens in 1998, Wallace and Square D left FILMAR to drive Andy Petree Racing's new #55 entry.^[5] Wallace finished in the top-ten five times and had a career-best twenty-second place finish in points.^[5] After only one top-ten in 2000 and a 26th place finish in the points, he departed the team.^[5] The sole top-ten came in his second place finish to Dale Earnhardt, in the then Winston 500 (now UAW Ford 500) which was Earnhardt's final victory. Wallace pushed Earnhardt to the front in four laps to the lead.

From 2001[link]

In 2001, Wallace signed with the unsponsored Eel River Racing team, and also was hired to drive the #48 Goulds Pumps Chevy in the Busch Series full-time for Innovative Motorsports. After several DNQ's, Wallace resigned from the team to concentrate on his Busch ride. He won his first race in seven years at North Carolina Speedway and finished tenth in points. He also filled in for Steve Park in the Cup Series,^[8] winning one pole and nailing down two top-tens, including a second-place finish at Rockingham Speedway, tying a career best.^[5] He did not win in 2002, but moved up to seventh in the Busch series standings in the #48 Chevrolet now sponsored by Stacker 2.^[5] He replaced a suspended Kevin Harvick at Martinsville and was hired late in the season by Bill Davis Racing to replace Hut Stricklin in the #23 Hills Brothers Coffee Dodge, and was hired to drive the car full-time in 2003, bringing his Stacker 2 sponsorship with him and continuing to drive in the Busch Series for Davis.^[5] After one top-ten finish, Wallace and the team moved down to the Busch Series in 2004, garnering ten top-ten finishes.^[5] He also drove in the Cup Series five times for Michael Waltrip Racing.^[5]

In 2005, Davis Racing closed its Busch team, allowing Wallace and sponsor Stacker 2 to join ppc Racing's #22 Ford, earning five top-fives and eleven top-tens.^[5] During that season Wallace's team lost sponsorship when Stacker 2 backed out of NASCAR, and drove for the rest of his time with ppc Racing driving the #22 AutoZone Ford. He began driving for Furniture Row Racing in the Cup Series that season, and ran seventeen races with them in 2006.^[5] After four top-tens in 2006, Furniture Row began racing full-time in Cup, so Wallace to left ppc.^[5]

Despite getting voted into the All-Star Race at Charlotte, Wallace was unable to keep the #78 in the top-35 in owner's points, and left the team in August.^[5] On August 22, 2007 he filled in for Kyle Petty in the 45 Wells Fargo Dodge at Bristol.^[5] Shortly after that drove as a sub for the injured Ricky Rudd in the #88 Snickers Ford Fusion until Rudd returned.

Wallace attempted to qualify for the 2008 Daytona 500 in a second car for Furniture Row Racing, the #87 Denver Mattress Chevrolet. Wallace finished eighth in the first Duel at Daytona,^[9] making the 50th Daytona 500. Wallace was black flagged in the Daytona 500 for failure to maintain the NASCAR-required speed and he finished last.^[10] Wallace drove for Armando Fitz early in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season before switching to the #28 for Jay Robinson.^[5] Between the 2008, 2009, and 2010 seasons, Wallace finished in the top-ten three times,^[5] He left Jay Robinson and joined RAB Racing, driving without a paycheck in exchange for getting to drive competitive equipment. Wallace has recorded 11 top-ten finishes in 2011, with a best finish of fifth at Richmond.^[5] In October, he announced that he will return to the team in 2012, along with all of his sponsors. He also hinted that he might retire from racing after the 2012 season.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2012, RAB Racing announced that Wallace would be attempting to qualify for the 2012 Daytona 500, driving a No. 09 Toyota Camry, sponsored by American Ethanol.^[11] The team suffered fuel pump issues in the Gatorade Duel and failed to qualify for the race.^[12]

Personal life[link]

Wallace is a member of a large racing family. Wallace's father, Russ, was a prolific winner on Midwestern short tracks in the 1960s and 1970s.^[13] Kenny and his older brothers, Rusty Wallace and Mike Wallace, followed in their father's footsteps. Rusty is the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion and winner of 55 Cup Series races. Mike is a winner of four Nationwide Series and four Camping World Truck Series races. Rusty's son, Steve Wallace, is a current Nationwide Series driver, and Mike's daughter, Chrissy Wallace, has participated in multiple Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series races.

Wallace is married to Kim and has three daughters, Brooke, Brandy, and Brittany. Wallace and his family reside in Concord, North Carolina.^[14]

Images[link]

• 

  1997 racecar

• 

  Kenny Wallace in the #22 car at Bristol in 2006

• 

  Kenny Wallace's #78 car at NHIS in 2006

• 

  2008 Cup car at Daytona

• 

  2009 Nationwide car at Milwaukee

• 

  2010 Nationwide car at Road America

• 

  2011 Nationwide car at Road America

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kenny Wallace

• Official website
• Kenny Wallace at Racing Reference
• Kenny Wallace at NASCAR.com

Russell Scott Riggs
Born	(1971-01-01) January 1, 1971 (age 41) Bahama, North Carolina
Awards	2002 NBS Rookie of the Year 2003 NBS Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
187 race(s) run over 9 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 23 (R3 Motorsports)
2011 position	78th
Best finish	20th - 2006
First race	2004 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race	2012 STP 400 (Kansas)
Wins Top tens Poles 16 3
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
101 race(s) run over 8 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 75 (Rick Ware Racing)
2011 position	39th
Best finish	6th - 2003
First race	2002 EAS / GNC Live Well 300 (Daytona)
Last race	2012 VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 (Darlington)
First win	2002 Pepsi 300 Presented by Kroger (Nashville)
Last win	2003 Trace Adkins Chrome 300 (Nashville)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 35 3
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
44 race(s) run over 4 year(s)
Truck no., team	No. 74 (Mike Harmon Racing)
2011 position	115th
Best finish	5th - 2001
First race	1999 Power Stroke 200 by Ford (IRP)
Last race	2011 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 (Kansas)
First win	2001 Advance Auto Parts 250 (Martinsville)
Last win	2001 Sears Craftsman 175 (Cicero)
Wins Top tens Poles 5 24 5
Statistics current as of May 11, 2012.

Russell Scott Riggs (born January 1, 1971 in Bahama, North Carolina) is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the No. 23 Chevrolet Impala for R3 Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Early career[link]

Riggs began his racing career at the age of fourteen in the American Motorcycle Association, where he won the State Championship in North Carolina two years in a row. At the age of seventeen, he began racing the NASCAR mini stock division, and won twelve races over his first three seasons. He continued to race in that series over the next decade, and was a two-time champion at Southern National Speedway.

In 1999, Riggs made his major-league NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series at Indianapolis Raceway Park, driving the #84 for Long Brothers Racing. He started seventh and finished nineteenth. He also competed at Richmond International Raceway, where he finished 23rd. In 2000, he finished ninth at Martinsville Speedway for Long, when he was hired to drive the #86 RC Cola Dodge Ram for Impact Motorsports, where he had seven top-tens. Towards the end of the season, he was released from Impact, and competed in one final race at California Speedway for Brevak Racing, finishing sixteenth. The following season, he drove for Ultra Motorsports, where he picked up five wins, the first coming at Martinsville. He finished fifth in points at the end of the season.

Nationwide Series[link]

In 2002, Riggs moved to the Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) to drive the #10 Nestlé Nesquik Ford Taurus for ppc Racing. He won his first race at Nashville Superspeedway, then won again two weeks later at California. He finished tenth in points at the end of the season, earning him Rookie of the Year honors. The next season, he picked up two more wins including a thrilling last-lap pass for a victory at Gateway International Raceway and finished sixth in points. He also won the Most Popular Driver award.

Sprint Cup Series[link]

Scott Riggs' #10 Chevrolet from 2005.

In 2004, Riggs signed to drive the #10 Valvoline Chevrolet Monte Carlo for MB2 Motorsports. Qualifying for all but one race that season, he had a fifth-place finish at Dover International Speedway and finished 29th in points, fifth in the Rookie of the Year standings. In 2005, he won his first pole at Martinsville, and went on to have a second-place finish at Michigan International Speedway.

At the end of the year, Riggs and Valvoline left for Evernham Motorsports. In 2006, Riggs failed to make the Daytona 500 because of a mechanical error in qualifying and a lack of owner points from the previous season (from the former #91 team). The #10 team finished the 2006 season high enough in owners' points to guarantee themselves a starting spot in the first 5 races in 2007. Riggs had back-to-back top-10 finishes at Martinsville and Texas. Riggs also won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 and the NEXTEL Open exhibition race at Charlotte. He won the NEXTEL Open, leading all but one lap, and advanced to the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge where he finished tenth. In the Coca-Cola 600, Riggs led 90 laps, but a pit road violation took him out of contention and he finished 13th. His highest ranking in the 2006 NEXTEL Cup points standings has been 18th. Riggs best finish in the 2006 Nextel Cup season was a 4th place finish which came at the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Scott won the pole in the Bank of America 500, sweeping both poles at Charlotte.

Riggs struggled in 2007, falling out of the top-35 in owner's points, and began failing to qualify for several races. During the summer, Riggs did not renew his contract with Evernham, and on October 3, 2007 it was revealed that Riggs had signed a contract to drive Haas CNC Racing's #66 State Water Heaters Chevrolet for the 2008 season.^[1] He was replaced in the #10 car for the last two races of 2007 by Patrick Carpentier.

Riggs was released from Haas CNC when that team signed Tony Stewart and became Stewart Haas Racing. Riggs joined Tommy Baldwin Racing to drive the #36 Toyota Camry in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. After qualifying for eight races, including the 2009 Daytona 500, Riggs announced that he was parting ways with TBR, refusing to be a start-and-park driver. He was replaced in favor of Mike Skinner, Brian Simo, and Patrick Carpentier.

On the March 30, 2010 it was announced Riggs would drive the #90 Chevrolet Impala for Keyed-Up Motorsports on an initial two race contract, taking over from Casey Mears who moved to Joe Gibbs Racing as a standby driver for Denny Hamlin.^[2] Riggs was running 25th on the lead lap in the Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix, but he blew a right-front tire with 4 laps to go and pounded the Turn 3 wall, forcing a green-white-checkered finish. Riggs went on to finish 28th. Due to sponsorship reasons, Keyed-Up Motorsports announced they would not return to the Sprint Cup Series until they had enough funds to run entire races.

Riggs drove for Whitney Motorsports in 4 races in 2011. However, after 4 DNQ's, he was released from the team. He has made several attempts to qualify in the R3 Motorsports No. 23 in late 2011 and 2012.

Return to Nationwide[link]

Riggs returned to the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2010 to drive the #09 Ford Fusion for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard. After the 2/27 race at Las Vegas, Riggs sat 10th in the series point standings. However, despite strong and consistent runs, Riggs was unable to bring sponsorship to the team and was released after the Nashville 300. On May 28, 2010, Riggs signed with Richard Childress Racing to drive the #21 Zaxby's Chevrolet Impala for the Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway and for the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway, while sharing duties with Clint Bowyer for the remainder of the season. At Nashville, Riggs recorded his first Top-10 of the season, finishing 9th. He also finished 9th at Kentucky. In 2011, Riggs has made ten starts in the Nationwide series for R3 Motorsports, with a best finish of 13th at Darlington.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Scott Riggs at Racing Reference
• Scott Riggs at NASCAR.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009)

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009)

The Dogs were a 1990s hip hop group consisting of Disco Rick, Keith Bell, Labrant Dennis and Fergus "Cracked Up" Smith, best known for "Crack Rock," their hit single with the chant "Yo' Mama's on Crack Rock!" The group released three studio albums The Dogs in 1990, Beware of The Dogs in 1991 and K-9 Bass in 1992.

Labrant Dennis was arrested in May 1996 for the double murder of Marlin Barnes, a University of Miami football player, and Timwaneka Lumpkin, his exgirlfriend.

Discography[link]

External links[link]

• Birchmeier, Jason "The Dogs Biography", Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation

This article on a hip hop music group or collective is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

James Dennis Alan Hamlin
Born	(1980-11-18) November 18, 1980 (age 31) Tampa, Florida, United States
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	155 lb (70 kg)
Achievements	2006 Budweiser Shootout winner First rookie to qualify for Chase for the Sprint Cup (2006)
Awards	2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
235 race(s) run over 8 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 11 (Joe Gibbs Racing)
2011 position	9th
Best finish	2nd - 2010
First race	2005 Banquet 400 (Kansas)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	2006 Pocono 500 (Pocono)
Last win	2012 STP 400 (Kansas)
Wins Top tens Poles 19 118 10
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
134 race(s) run over 9 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 18 (Joe Gibbs Racing)
2011 position	93rd
Best finish	4th - 2006
First race	2004 BI-LO 200 (Darlington)
Last race	2012 History 300 (Charlotte)
First win	2006 Telcel-Motorola 200 (Mexico City)
Last win	2011 Bubba Burger 250 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 11 79 16
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
13 race(s) run over 7 year(s)
2011 position	84th
Best finish	107th (2004)
First race	2004 Power Stroke Diesel 200 (IRP)
Last race	2011 Ford 200 (Homestead)
First win	2011 Kroger 200 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 7 0
Statistics current as of May 27, 2012.

James Dennis Alan "Denny" Hamlin (born November 18, 1980)^[1] is an American NASCAR race car driver. He currently drives the No. 11 FedEx Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series and the No. 18 Toyota in the Nationwide Series.

Hamlin was born in Tampa, Florida, but lived in Chesterfield, Virginia for most of his childhood. He began racing go-karts at the age of 7. Afterward, he worked his way up to Late Models by 2004 and signed a development contract with Joe Gibbs Racing. After running briefly in the Craftsman Truck Series, Hamlin drove a full season in the Busch Series in 2005, while running a few Nextel Cup races. After having great race finishes, Hamlin was given a full-time ride with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Career[link]

Beginnings[link]

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. He then 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, Hamlin was signed to a driver development contract with Joe Gibbs Racing.

NASCAR career[link]

Denny Hamlin's #11 FedEx Chevy being inspected at the November 12, 2006 Checker Auto 500

2004–2006[link]

In 2004, Hamlin competed in five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) races with EJP Racing, and had a tenth-place finish in his NASCAR debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park. He later ran his first career ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, finishing third in the #10 Pontiac owned by Andy Hillenburg. His final start of the year came at Darlington Raceway, when he made his Busch Series debut. He started twenty-seventh (rain-out) but finished eighth in the #18 Joe Gibbs Driven Performance Oil Chevrolet.

Hamlin ran the full season in 2005 after he replaced Mike Bliss in the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet in the Busch 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 Jason Leffler was released, and made 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.

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 full-time. In Hamlin's first restrictor plate race as a Nextel Cup driver, he beat 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). 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. 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 for a rookie in the modern era of NASCAR. Hamlin thus became the first ever rookie to make the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.^[2]

2007–2008[link]

2008 Nationwide car

Denny Hamlin practicing for the 2007 Ford 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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, but finished 12th overall in the final standings. In the Nationwide Series, Hamlin scored three victories including Darlington, Michigan, and Dover in the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevy.

In 2008, Hamlin had a near identical season as before, but moved up to eighth in points, and won early in the season at Martinsville Speedway. He led 381 out of 410 laps in the 2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400, the most dominant effort of a driver since 2000. but cut a tire and finished 24th. He won three races in the Nationwide Series, driving both the #18 and #20 entries for Gibbs, as well as the #32 Dollar General/Haas Avocados car for Braun Racing.

2009[link]

He continued driving the #11 car in Sprint Cup in 2009, as well as sharing the #20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series. Hamlin won his fifth career race at Pocono Raceway on August 3, 2009. Hamlin boldly stated at the final restart "I'm going to win this race." He followed through on the statement, moving from sixth to first and snapping a 50 race win-less streak. The win was Hamlin's third at Pocono. It was especially emotional for the #11 team as Hamlin had lost his grandmother, Thelma Clark, that Friday.

Hamlin once again dominated the race at Richmond International Raceway and finally won at his home track. On October 25, 2009 Hamlin held off Jimmie Johnson to win the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin guaranteed that he would win this race after he came in second in the spring race.

Hamlin then went on to win the Ford 400 at the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, capping off his 2009 season 5th in the overall standings with 4 wins, 15 top 5's and 20 top 10's. Hamlin took the lead after starting the race in 38th position and he led a total of 70 laps to capture his 4th win of the 2009 season. After the 2009 season ended.

2010[link]

Hamlin entered the 2010 season with great expectations. Many^[who?] believed he would be a favorite to unseat Jimmie Johnson as Sprint Cup Champion.

On January 22, 2010, Hamlin tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while playing basketball. The decision was made to postpone his surgery until after the season.

Hamlin announced on March 27, 2010 to have surgery on his left knee the following Monday. The decision was made to prevent further damage to his knee.^[3]

On March 29, 2010, Hamlin won the rain-postponed race at Martinsville Speedway in wild fashion. He beat his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Joey Logano, and Jeff Gordon to the finish line. Two days later, Hamlin had knee surgery to repair the torn ligament in his left knee.

On April 19, 2010, three weeks after his surgery, Hamlin worked his way from a 28th starting spot to restart 2nd with 13 laps to go at Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin was later able to pass Jeff Burton on the outside and hold off Jimmie Johnson to get his 10th career win and his second win in three races.

Less than three weeks later on May 8, Hamlin visited victory lane for the third time in 2010 at Darlington Raceway. He swept the weekend by winning both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series events. He became the first driver to do so at Darlington since Mark Martin in 1993. He won the Nationwide Series Royal Purple 200 presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts driving the #20 for Joe Gibbs Racing on Friday night. He started on the pole and led the most laps to win the race. Hamlin started 8th in Saturday night's Showtime Southern 500 and went on to lead 108 laps and take the checkered flag. A few races later, Hamlin dominated at The Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 Presented By Target at Pocono Raceway, leading the most laps on his way to gathering his 12th career win, his 4th win of the season, and his fourth win at Pocono. A week later, Hamlin set a career-high fifth win of the season, when he won at Michigan International Speedway after starting 7th.

Later in the 2010 season, Hamlin finished 43rd in the Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, marking the first last-place finish of Hamlin's career. This dropped him five spots in the Chase standings, placing him in 10th overall. Despite the drop in the standings, the top 10 drivers in the Chase were locked in after Atlanta, guaranteeing Hamlin a spot in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup. A driver error in the first Chase race on part of Carl Edwards caused Hamlin to spin with 85 to go. With cars ahead running out of fuel, Hamlin barely lost to Clint Bowyer. In the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway Denny drove a great race.^{[says who?]} Dover has always been rough to Hamlin and though he did not lead a lap he went on to finish the race in 9th and retained the points lead by 35 points over Jimmie Johnson. The following week at Kansas Speedway, Hamlin encountered a rough driving car and finished 12th, a finish that was not good enough to keep the points lead, and fell into a deficit of 8 points to Jimmie Johnson, who finished 2nd. Then the following week at California he finished in the top 10 but still lost points to the 48 car of Jimmie Johnson. At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hamlin led a lap (his first lead in the Chase) and finished in 4th, one spot behind points leader Jimmie Johnson, and lost another 5 points. But the triumph came at the .526-mile (paper clip-shaped) Martinsville Speedway; Hamlin came through with his series-leading seventh victory of the season. Hamlin won the pole and led the first 11 laps but encountered tire issues; he dropped back to 17th and finally worked himself up consistently to 5th until lap 471 with 29 laps to go, he took the lead from Kevin Harvick and held off a hard-charging Mark Martin to lead the final 29 laps and take his 3rd straight victory at Martinsville and his 4th at the historic track. He closed the lead to 6 points behind points leader and 5th place finisher Jimmie Johnson. Next up was the Amp Energy Juice 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway. Denny started 17th, but fell back and lost the draft. He went a lap down, but when a caution came out, he got the Lucky Dog and was back on the lead lap. He then worked his way up to a 9th-place finish, two spots behind points leader Jimmie Johnson. This put Denny another 8 points behind in the standings, totaling to 14. Hamlin won the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, and then led the standings by 33 over Johnson with two races to go. Next was Phoenix International speedway. Denny Hamlin started 14th but got up to the front right away and was leading for almost the whole race. With 14 laps to go, Hamlin had to pit because he was short on fuel. He finished 12th. After the race, Hamlin was furious and threw a water bottle in frustration.^{[citation needed]} With one race to go, Hamlin led Johnson by 15 points and was 46 points ahead of Kevin Harvick. On the last race he lost the lead to Johnson and ended up 39 points behind him.

2011[link]

FedEx Paint scheme

In 2011 Hamlin almost won the Budweiser Shootout, but the victory was taken away from him by Kurt Busch because at the last second, Hamlin crossed the yellow line, on turn four to the finish line, in his attempt to pass Ryan Newman. Denny struggled in the first 8 races where his only top 10 was a seventh at Las Vegas. However, when the series got to Richmond, Denny turned on the heat by winning both his charity event and the Nationwide race but would finish 2nd to teammate kyle busch. He would go on to finish outside of the top 10 once at dover finishing in the top 20 and rebounded with finishes of 10th and 3rd at Charlotte and Kansas respectively. After his 3rd place finish at Kansas, he would climb to 11th in points – 1 point out of the coveted 10th as the series goes to his favorite track, Pocono, where he would have tied himself for the most all-time wins at the track, if he had placed first. After a disappointing 19th place finish, he moved on to Michigan, a track at which he posted a 1st and 2nd place finish in 2010. Before the first practice at Michigan, oil pans unapproved by NASCAR were confiscated from the three JGR teams, including Hamlin. After showing signs of sheer mediocrity during each practice and qualifying, Hamlin qualified 10th in the field. He showed signs of improvement at the very start of the race, Hamlin quickly slid back in the field and was in the 10th to 15th place range until beginning to improve with about 70 laps to go, deeming the adjustment on his loose race car "a magic adjustment" On lap 158, with 42 laps to go, a penalty caused by an accident between Juan Pablo Montoya and Andy Lally allowed Hamlin to move to the front of the field by short pitting. Another caution on lap 192 moved the 11 car up to the first position. After a restart, Hamlin surged to ahead of the group, with Matt Kenseth right behind him in the closing three laps. After desperately trying to move past Hamlin, Kenseth made a final attempt coming out of turn four on the final lap, causing him to almost hit the wall because of a loose racecar. This win vaulted Hamlin from 12th in the standings, where he would have been replaced in the chase by Jeff Gordon if each stayed in their current position, to 9th, where he is guaranteed a spot in the chase. At the end of the season Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Mike Ford would not return as Hamlin's crew chief in 2012.^[4]

2012[link]

Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Darian Grubb will be Mike Ford's replacement as Hamlin's crew chief for the 2012 season. Grubb was previously Tony Stewart's crew chief and led him to his third title. He was released and later replaced by Steve Addington as Stewart's crew chief.

Hamlin scored his first win of the year in the second event on the schedule, at Phoenix International Raceway.^[5]

On April 22nd, Denny out-dueled Martin Truex Jr. to score his second win in the eighth race of the year, at Kansas Speedway.

Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Statistics[link]

(Data as of May 6, 2012^[6])

(* After first 8 races of 2012 season; **after first 8 races of 2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Denny Hamlin at Racing Reference
• Denny Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing