Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin grew up racing karts in Chesterfield, Virginia and eventually graduated to Ministocks after earning his drivers license at age 16. During his first stock car race at Langley Speedway he captured the pole position and the race title, foreshadowing what was to come in his racing career. After progressing to the Grand Stock division in 1998 he raced Late Model Stock Cars in 2000. From 2000 to 2004 he won 35 races and captured 30 pole positions on the Late Model Stock Car circuit and then signed as a developmental driver with Joe Gibbs Racing. In his first race on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2004 he placed tenth and Indianapolis Raceway Park and went on to earn a spot on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and Busch Series in 2006. During his first season he captured Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors and became the first rookie to quality for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, having won 2006 Pocono 500 and 2006 Sprint Unlimited. Since that time he has captured 35 wins and 246 top ten finishes on the Xfinity Series and Busch Series while also winning 35 pole positions in 468 career races. As of 2014 Hamlin is the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.