No. 11 Yahoo Toyota Camry XSE News and Notes
- HAMLIN AT LAS VEGAS: Denny Hamlin is a former winner at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after visiting victory lane in September 2021. He has led laps in the past eight races at Las Vegas dating back to September 2020. Hamlin has finished 11th or better in seven of his last eight starts at Las Vegas, including an eighth-place finish in March.
- ROUND OF 12 RECAP: Hamlin advanced to the Round of 8 for the sixth consecutive season after finishing eighth at Kansas Speedway, 10th at Talladega Superspeedway, and 14th in last weekend’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
- PLAYOFF HISTORY: This season marks Hamlin’s 18th appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs giving him the most appearances since the postseason format began in 2004. Over the course of his career, Hamlin has finished in the top five in points nine times, including the past five seasons working with crew chief Chris Gabehart.
- HISTORY OF THE 11: Throughout NASCAR history, the No. 11 has visited victory lane more than any other car number. Hamlin’s win at Dover Motor Speedway was the 234th time a No. 11 car has won in the Cup Series. For Hamlin, his 54 victories driving the No. 11 are only one behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough for most on the illustrious list of drivers who have wheeled a No. 11 car to victory lane. That list includes Bobby Allison (3 wins), Mario Andretti (1 win), Buddy Baker (2 wins), Geoffrey Bodine (4 wins), Bill Elliott (6 wins), A.J. Foyt (1 win), Denny Hamlin (54 wins), Ned Jarrett (49 wins), Junior Johnson (11 wins), Parnelli Jones (1 win), Terry Labonte (4 wins), Darrell Waltrip (43 wins), and Cale Yarborough (55 wins).
- JGR AT LAS VEGAS: Joe Gibbs Racing owns four NASCAR Cup Series victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In 108 combined starts at the track, the organization has posted 29 top-five finishes, 57 top-10s, seven pole awards, and 1,136 laps led. Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Martin Truex Jr. join Hamlin on the list of drivers who have taken JGR to victory lane at Las Vegas.
- TUNE IN: Coverage of this weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway begins Sunday, October 20, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Denny Hamlin, Driver of the No. 11 Yahoo Toyota Camry XSE
How does your mentality change moving into the Round of 8?
“My focus does shift to ‘we’ve got to go win now’. There is still an element of the Round of 12 where it’s just don’t beat yourself. Then, in the Round of 8, you typically need to win or run top five at pretty much all of them if you want to make it to Phoenix. Going into this week, I don’t have to win, but I need to run really, really well. I need to qualify well and get stage points. We need big days for the next three weeks in a row.”
JGR PR