page_title: Joe Gibbs Racing
section_title: Car No. 11 history
hierarchical_section_title: Joe Gibbs Racing / Cup Series / Car No. 11 history
caption_attribution_description: English: NASCAR drivers Jason Leffler #11 and Bobby Hamilton, Jr. #32 before the start of the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Las Vegas. Bobby Hamilton, Jr. is the short man at the front of the #32 car.
context_page_description: Joe Gibbs Racing is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Headquartered in Huntersville, North Carolina, roughly 10 miles northwest of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the team has amassed five Cup Series championships since the year 2000.
  For the team's first sixteen seasons, JGR ran cars from General Motors. During that period, the team won their first three championships: two in Pontiac Grand Prixs and one in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Despite this, Joe Gibbs Racing announced during the 2007 season that they would be ending their arrangement with GM at the end of the year and begin running Toyotas the following season. This partnership would eventually bring Toyota their first Premier series championship when Kyle Busch won in 2015.
  In the NASCAR Cup Series, the team currently fields four full-time entries: the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Denny Hamlin, the No. 18 Camry for Kyle Busch, the No. 19 Camry for Martin Truex Jr., and the No. 20 Camry for Erik Jones.
context_section_description: Multiple drivers (2004-2005)
  The No. 11 car (the number J. D. Gibbs wore playing football at College of William & Mary) began in 2004. Ricky Craven, recently released from PPI Motorsports finished 30th at Talladega with sponsorship from Old Spice, and Busch Series driver J. J. Yeley ran two races in the car with Vigoro/The Home Depot sponsorship.
  The No. 11 car went full-time in 2005, with new sponsor FedEx coming on to fund the full season in a multi-year deal. Jason Leffler, who had driven for JGR in the Busch series, was signed to drive the No. 11 for the full season, while Dave Rogers was named the crew chief. The new team struggled early on in the season. Leffler missed the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, with FedEx Freight moving over to the 18 car that Bobby Labonte would drive to a second-place finish. Rogers was reassigned and replaced with veteran crew chief Mike Ford in June, then former Cup champion Terry Labonte was hired to run the road course at Sonoma, qualifying 8th and finishing a solid 12th. After 19 starts with a best finish of 12th and sitting 36th in points, Leffler was released from the ride. Terry Labonte ran the next three races, then ran the Fall Richmond race finishing 9th. J. J. Yeley ran 4 races with a best finish of 25th. In November, it was announced that Denny Hamlin would drive the car for the remainder of the season, then run for Rookie of the Year in 2006. Hamlin ran seven races, finished in the top 10 three times, and earned a pole at Phoenix International Raceway.
  Denny Hamlin (2005–present)
  Hamlin was awarded the No. 11 FedEx Express full-time ride in 2006 in addition to his full-time Busch schedule in the No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet. Hamlin was part of a large and strong rookie class, including teammate J.J. Yeley, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., David Stremme, Brent Sherman, and Reed Sorenson. Hamlin opened the season by winning the Budweiser Shootout non-points race, holding off Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on a green-white-checker restart. In June, Hamlin scored his first Cup Series victory at the difficult Pocono Raceway. Hamlin started on the pole, then battled back from a cut tire to take the victory. In his return to the track in July, Hamlin again won the pole, then proceeded to lead 151 of 200 laps en route to a second victory, the first rookie to sweep both Pocono races. Hamlin credited his prowess on the track to practicing on the racing simulator NASCAR Racing 2003 Season. Hamlin's strong performance earned the rookie a berth in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, where he would finish 3rd in points. Until 2016, Hamlin was the only rookie to make the Chase.
  In 2007, Hamlin won the first of two races at New Hampshire International Speedway in 2007, and finished 12th in points. In 2008, Hamlin won the Gatorade Duel and the first race at Martinsville Speedway, and improved to eighth in points. He qualified for the Chase again in 2009 after winning the second race at Pocono Raceway and Richmond International Raceway. He ended the season with four victories after winning Martinsville and Homestead-Miami Speedway in the chase.
  2010 was Hamlin and the 11 team's breakout year. They won at Martinsville and Denny followed the win by having knee surgery. After the surgery, the team won 4 of the next 10 races at Texas, Darlington, Pocono, and Michigan. The team made the chase after another win at Richmond. The team won races during the chase at Martinsville and Texas and held the points lead going into the season finale. However, an early wreck would put them behind the competition, and Hamlin wound up finishing second to Jimmie Johnson during the 2010 chase. Hamlin later admitted to putting too much pressure on himself during the Chase, which mentally impacted him. As a result, Mike Ford took a "no compromise" attitude for 2011, hoping to right the ship. However, the team struggled throughout 2011, with multiple blown engines and a single win at Michigan to push the No. 11 into the Chase. Hamlin would finish 9th in the final standings. At season's end, Mike Ford was released as crew chief an
caption: The original No. 11 car driven by Jason Leffler in 2005.
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