SONOMA, Calif. – After Denny Hamlin won his second Daytona 500 in February, his sponsor FedEx offered Hamlin the opportunity to design his throwback paint scheme for the Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
FedEx asked Hamlin to design two schemes and have Joe Gibbs Racing employees vote on which one would hit the track for the Southern 500. Hamlin chose to honor Darrell Waltrip, who announced recently he was retiring from his role as a commentator on FOX Sports NASCAR broadcasts.
The shop voted in early June for a car similar to the one Waltrip drove to his final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win – at Darlington Raceway – in 1992.
“When FedEx asked me to design my Darlington scheme, it was right around the time that Darrell announced his retirement, so it was an easy decision for me,” Hamlin said. “Darrell carried the banner for the No. 11 car for so many years, and I’ll be proud to drive this throwback scheme in his honor in September.”
“This was one of my favorite cars. We had a lot of good days in it,” said Waltrip. “That No. 11 is special as it is one of the winningest numbers in NASCAR. Can’t thank Denny and FedEx enough and I look forward to seeing it in victory circle.”