NASCAR Cup

Atlanta II: Denny Hamlin preview

Denny Hamlin: You are very close to being locked into the chase - with that being said, does that make this weekend even more important? "All of them are important. No matter where you are in the points and in terms of the Chase, a good run ...

Published: Oct 2, 2009, 4:18 PM

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Denny Hamlin:

You are very close to being locked into the chase - with that being said, does that make this weekend even more important?

"All of them are important. No matter where you are in the points and in terms of the Chase, a good run always helps. We feel like we're in a pretty good spot but we definitely will not take anything for granted. We want to go to Atlanta and win, just like the other guys."

Will it be a big difference racing at night at Atlanta?

"I think it'll be really exciting under the lights at Atlanta. It's a race track that produces some exciting finishes and I think the fans will like the atmosphere that comes with running under the lights. From the competition side, we're prepared for the conditions knowing we are in for a really big change, but we had a good tire test at Atlanta not that long ago, so I feel like we can go back with a good idea of what to expect."

Based on your stats, it seems that Atlanta has been Jekyll or Hyde for you, so is Atlanta a track you enjoy racing at?

"I have learned a lot about racing at Atlanta since moving to the Sprint Cup Series. Atlanta is the kind of track I had to learn from scratch, coming from a Late Model background where we ran small, flat short tracks. Atlanta is a very fast intermediate track, so it took some time but I feel much more confident there, and the team is always building better and better intermediate cars. I'm not sure our finishes there really show how strong we've been."

What did you do during the off week?

"I really just spent time with friends. We have a long string of races ahead of us, as we look at the Chase and it gets really busy, so it was nice to be around home. I wanted to relax while I could and get ready for the rest of the season."

What would it mean to put Farm Bureau Insurance in victory lane for the first time in 2009?

"They have been a great partner for Joe Gibbs Racing, so of course we'd like to put them in Victory Lane. We had Farm Bureau Insurance on board at Darlington and we'd like to improve on that finish this time out. Hopefully everyone at Farm Bureau Insurance will be celebrating on Sunday night."

Chassis: No. 232

*Best Finish of 2009 was 5th at Chicagoland Speedway; finished 12th at Texas Motor Speedway in the spring.

Farm Bureau Insurance Racing
Quick Facts:

* Denny Hamlin has eight starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

* In his career, Denny Hamlin has collected one top-five and two top-ten finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway

* Denny Hamlin's best career finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was 3rd at the October 2008 race

* Atlanta Motor Speedway: Career Starting Avg. 15.4 -- Career Finishing Avg. 16.5

* Denny Hamlin has one win (Pocono in August), eight top-five and twelve top-ten finishes in 2009

* Denny Hamlin is currently 4th in the NSCS Standings

-credit: jgr

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