Ranking Denny Hamlin's top-5 FedEx liveries in NASCAR as their partnership ends
After two decades of sponsorship, Denny Hamlin and FedEx are parting ways. The shipping firm will not return to the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry, with the veteran driver still in talks for his next major sponsor in the NASCAR Cup Series for 2025.
The split marks the end of the longest sponsor-driver relationship to exist in the premier series, which began in 2005 when Hamlin made his debut. On the bright side, the partnership left some iconic liveries cemented by the driver’s 47 out of 54 Cup race wins with the outgoing sponsor.
While waiting for Hamlin’s next title sponsor, let’s look back at some of the top FedEx paint schemes on the No. 11 car.
Denny Hamlin’s 2006 No. 11 FedEx Ground Chevrolet
The list starts with Denny Hamlin’s first car parked in the victory lane at Pocono Raceway in June 2006. The No. 11 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS had a black base color complemented by green accents on the spoiler, the “Ex” inscriptions, and around the lower body.
When the grid returned to the same Pennsylvania track a month later, the Virginia native was victorious again. The car had a similar paint scheme as his first win except it promoted FedEx Kinko’s and went for blue instead of green.
At the time, Joe Gibbs Racing was still running Chevrolets. The team switched to Toyota in 2008.
2006 No. 11 FedEx Express Rookie of the Year Chevrolet
Denny Hamlin won the Rookie of the Year award in 2006. During the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the driver ran a FedEx Express Chevy with a black base and orange accents. This paint scheme was regarded as his ROTY Award car.
Hamlin won the award over prominent rookies including Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer. He made a mark in the premier series by sweeping the Pocono races and finishing third in the standings, which was the highest points finish for a rookie in the modern era.
2008 No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota
Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing started running Toyota Camrys in 2008. The driver only won one race with a FedEx Freight paint scheme at Martinsville Speedway. The car was finished in black and looked sporty with red accents around the body including on the shipping firm’s logo.
The paint scheme was kept for the following years, though the secondary color changed depending on the FedEx service promoted. The No. 11 car used red for FedEx Freight, green for FedEx Ground, blue for FedEx Office, and orange for FedEx Express.
2016 No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota
For the season opener at the Daytona 500 in 2016, Denny Hamlin brought the No. 11 car to victory lane, marking his first win in the most prestigious race in NASCAR. The car had a two-tone black and purple paint scheme along with playful orange accents.
The paint scheme was used throughout the season, though the color accent changed depending on the FedEx service. When the driver won Watkins Glen International, the car had red accents promoting FedEx Freight. He was also victorious at Richmond Raceway with FedEx Ground, thus the car had green accents.
2017 No. 11 FedEx Toyota
Perhaps one of the most assertive-looking paint schemes used on the No. 11 car was in 2017, the season NASCAR introduced stage racing. The JGR Toyota Camry had a purple base color similar to its Yahoo! livery, complemented by an orange flame-like detail on the sides.
However, Hamlin only won one race that year, which came at the Overton's 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He took the lead from the No. 20 Toyota of teammate Matt Kenseth and held off Kyle Larson for the win.
As opposed to previous paint schemes, the color combinations were pretty much kept the same regardless of the FedEx service.