Who: Denny Hamlin, 2019 DAYTONA 500 champion and driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing
Chip Wile, President, Daytona International Speedway
What: Hamlin and Wile will place a 3×3 cement block with Hamlin’s signature, hand prints and right foot into the DAYTONA 500 Champions’ Walk of Fame. The imprints were made earlier this year following Hamlin’s second DAYTONA 500 win.
When: Friday, July 5, 3 p.m.
Where: Outside Daytona International Speedway Ticket and Tours Building
This event is open to the fans and media.
Storylines:
Denny Hamlin
· Hamlin beat Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Erik Jones to the finish line for his second win in “The Great American Race.” The two-time DAYTONA 500 champion has won by a combined 0.148 seconds – 0.138 seconds over Busch and 0.010 seconds over Martin Truex Jr. in 2016 (the closest finish in event history since the advent of timing and scoring).
· Hamlin’s second DAYTONA 500 win was an emotional one as the team honored Joe Gibbs’ late son, J.D. Gibbs, who passed away the previous month due to a neurological disease. Hamlin had been brought into the Joe Gibbs Racing organization by J.D.
· Hamlin will attempt to pull off the DAYTONA Double by winning both Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races in the same year. Drivers to previously sweep the DAYTONA 500 and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in the same season are Jimmie Johnson (2013), Bobby Allison (1982), Fireball Roberts (1962), Cale Yarborough (1968) and LeeRoy Yarbrough (1969).
· With a win in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, Hamlin would become only the 10th driver to win all Monster Energy Series races at DIS (The Clash At DAYTONA, Duel At DAYTONA, DAYTONA 500 and Coke Zero Sugar 400). Other drivers to accomplish this feat are Bobby Allison, Buddy Baker, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett and Jimmie Johnson.
DAYTONA 500 Champions’ Walk of Fame
· Since 1996, DAYTONA 500 champions have had their hands, right foot and signature immortalized in cement in the DAYTONA 500 Champions’ Walk of Fame, which is located outside the Ticket and Tours Building near the Bill France Jr. statue. There is a special plaque in the DAYTONA 500 Champions’ Walk of Fame honoring the late Dale Earnhardt and his 1998 DAYTONA 500 victory.
