Denny Hamlin

Birthday: 11/18/1980
Hometown: Chesterfield, VA

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011 -- Finished ninth in series points. ... Zero poles for first time in seven years in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. ... Average start of 17.1, best start second, at Auto Club. ... Won Michigan-1, to give him a win in six consecutive seasons and ensure his sixth consecutive Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup berth. ... Average finish of 16. ... Completed 98.4 percent of laps attempted. ... Led 450 laps. ... His crew won second consecutive Sprint Pit Crew Challenge in May.

2010 -- Finished career-best second in series points. ... His eight victories were a series-best and doubled his career victories total, to 16. ... Swept both events at Texas and Martinsville, both career firsts. ... Won for the second time in three events at Richmond, his home track, on Sept. 11. .... Led the most laps and won three times (Martinsville-1, 172 laps; Michigan-1, 123; Richmond-2, 251). ... Began Chase seeded first. ... One of three drivers to win two Chase races (Martinsville, Texas). Swapped lead twice in Chase with Jimmie Johnson and took 15-point lead into finale. ... Became first driver to lose point lead in finale and finished second to Johnson by 39

points. ... His crew won Sprint Pit Crew Challenge in May.

2009 -- Finished fifth in series points. ... His four victories were tied for third-best in the series, behind series champion Jimmie Johnson (seven) and runner-up Mark Martin (five). ... Won at Pocono for the third time in eight starts on August 3. The victory was an emotional one for Hamlin after the recent deaths of his grandmother, Thelma Clark, and the mother of tire specialist Patrick Mullen. ... Won at Richmond on Sept. 12, his first in eight tries at his home track .... Won at Martinsville on Oct. 25. ... Led 200-plus laps three times (Martinsville, spring, in a second-place finish), and Richmond and Martinsville in victories. ... Began the Chase seeded fourth, dropped as far as 11th (twice) ... His budding rivalry with rising Cup driver Brad Keselowski became a popular storyline late in the season.

2008 -- Finished eighth in series points. ... Had one win, at Martinsville spring event. ... Made the Chase for the third consecutive year.... Best start of the season was on the pole at Richmond's spring race, where he led 381 laps before finishing 24th.

2007 -- Finished 12th in the series standings. ... Had one win -- at New Hampshire summer race -- with 12 top-fives and 18 top-10s. ... Made the Chase for the second consecutive year. ... Best start of the season was on the pole at Martinsville.

2006 -- Finished third in series points. ... Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year. ... Swept both 2006 Pocono races from the pole. ... Completed first full season of competition.

2005 -- Finished 41st in series points. ... Made his Cup Series debut at Kansas, starting seventh and finishing 32nd. ... Competed in seven Cup races and registered three top-10 finishes, at Charlotte, Martinsville and Texas. ... Earned his first pole at Phoenix in November.

PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY

In 2011 won a race in all three NASCAR national series, in the process becoming the 23rd driver in NASCAR history to do so. ... In two full-time seasons, finished fourth in 2006 and fifth in the 2005 in NASCAR Nationwide Series final points. ... Finished 37th in 2004 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points after making first NASCAR national series start that year at O'Reilly Raceway Park, starting seventh and finishing 10th. ... A product of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, where he collected nearly 50 late model stock car wins from 2002-04. ... Won the 2003 Southern National Speedway track championship, posting 25 wins and 30 poles on the season. ... Won his first NASCAR races in 2002 (10 total) along with 15 poles at Southampton (Capron, Va.) Motor Speedway. ... Was rookie of the year at Southside (Midlothian, Va.) Speedway in late model stock cars. ... Mini stock rookie of the year in 1997 at Southside and Langley Speedways in Virginia. ... Youngest driver to win NASCAR mini stock track title at Langley (16 years old). ... Collected five championships and 127 feature wins in kart racing career with limited participation in three classes over two seasons. ... Started racing at age 7 in Junior Sportsman karting competition; won the first event he entered.

NOTEWORTHY

Continues to operate the Denny Hamlin Foundation for charity outreach, with its chief fundraiser, the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, moving to Richmond International Raceway in spring 2011. ... Hamlin began his racing career in karts at age 7. From there on his family hasn't looked back, pouring all they have into Denny's career in motorsports. From the moment he began, his family knew he would be a success, so much so that they almost went into financial ruin trying to support his early career. ... Hamlin's favorite driver since he was a boy has been Bill Elliott. ... Hamlin also is an avid pilot. ... Active on Twitter: @DennyHamlin.