Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

# Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

## Abstract

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Arabic: تنظيم القاعدة في جزيرة العرب, romanized: Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, lit. ' Organization of the Base in the Arabian Peninsula ' or تنظيم قاعدة الجهاد في جزيرة العرب, Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, "Organization of Jihad 's Base in the Arabian Peninsula"), abbreviated as AQAP, also known as Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen (Arabic: جماعة أنصار الشريعة, Jamā‘at Anṣār ash-Sharī‘ah, "Group of the Helpers of the Sharia "), is a Sunni Islamist insurgent extremist group, which is part of the al-Qaeda network and primarily active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It is considered the most active of al-Qaeda's branches that emerged after the weakening of central leadership.

The group established an emirate during the 2011 Yemeni Revolution, reaching its peak in 2015 after capturing the provincial capital of Mukalla. Its strength has since waned after internal struggles and foreign interventions in the subsequent Yemeni Civil War, and by the late 2010's they would only operate substantially in their strongholds, Abyan and al-Bayda governorates. Despite their losses, AQAP still remains as one of al-Qaeda's strongest affiliates. The group has been designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations, United States, Saudi Arabia, UAE and several other countries.

## Ideology and formation

Like al-Qaeda Central, AQAP opposes the monarchy of the House of Saud. AQAP was formed in January 2009 from a merger of the Yemeni branch and Saudi branch of al-Qaeda. The Saudi group had been effectively suppressed by the Saudi government, forcing its members to seek sanctuary in Yemen.

The groups objectives include the overthrowal of Saudi and Yemeni governments and the establishment of an Islamic state in the Arabian Peninsula. In 2010, it was believed to have several hundred members. The group also seeks for the destruction of the Israeli state and the liberation of the Palestinian territories.

## Transformation into an active al-Qaeda branch

The number of terrorist plots in the West that originated from Pakistan declined considerably from most of them (at the outset), to 75% in 2007, and to 50% in 2010, as al-Qaeda shifted to Somalia and Yemen.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton formally designated al-Qaeda in Yemen a terrorist organization on 14 December 2009. On 24 August 2010, The Washington Post journalist Greg Miller wrote that the CIA believed Yemen's branch of al-Qaeda had surpassed its parent organization, Osama bin Laden's core group, as al-Qaeda's most dangerous threat to the U.S. homeland.

On 26 August 2010, Yemen claimed that U.S. officials had exaggerated the size and danger of al-Qaeda in Yemen, insisting also that fighting the jihadist network's local branch remained Sanaa's job. A former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden warned of an escalation in fighting between al-Qaeda and Yemeni authorities and predicted the government would need outside intervention to stay in power.

However, Ahmed al-Bahri told the Associated Press that attacks by al-Qaeda in southern Yemen was an indication of its increasing strength. CNN analyst Paul Cruickshank asserted that several U.S. officials viewed AQAP as the branch of al-Qaeda which posed the most serious threat to American interests in the region.

## Operations and activities as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Al-Qaeda was responsible for the USS Cole bombing in October 2000 in Aden, killing 17 U.S. sailors. In 2002, an al-Qaeda bomb damaged the French supertanker Limburg in the Gulf of Aden.

The Global Terrorism Database attributes the 2004 Khobar massacre to the group.

In addition to a number of attacks in Saudi Arabia, and the kidnap and murder of Paul Marshall Johnson Jr. in Riyadh in 2004, the group is suspected in connection with a bombing in Doha, Qatar, in March 2005.

On 27 August 2009, Saudi-Arabian AQAP suicide bomber Abdullah al-Asiri attempted to assassinate Saudi prince Muhammad bin Nayef at a Ramadan gathering in his home in Jeddah. Al-Asiri was sent to Saudi Arabia from Yemen, and had previously expressed his intention to turn himself in to Saudi authorities. Though al-Arisi was killed in the bombing, Nayef was only slightly injured.

## Operations and activities during Yemen conflict

### 2009

On 15 March, 4 South Korean tourists were killed in Shibam, Hadhramaut by a suicide bomber. The Yemeni government blamed AQAP for the attack, as well as one on a South Korean delegation on 18 March that only killed the perpetrator.

### 2010

On 8 February, deputy leader Said Ali al-Shihri called for a regional holy war and blockade of the Red Sea to prevent shipments to Israel. In an audiotape announcement he called upon Somali militant group al-Shabaab for assistance in the blockade.

On 26 April, an AQAP suicide bomber attempted to assassinate the UK ambassador to Yemen, Timothy Torlot in Sana'a. Torlot was unhurt, but 3 others were injured in the attack. AQAP attempted again to kill a British diplomat, Fionna Gibb, in Sana'a on 6 October. An AQAP member fired a rocket-propelled grenade at her vehicle, injuring an embassy worker and 3 bystanders. Gibb was unharmed.

The Yemeni government launched an offensive on 19 August to secure the town of Lawdar, Abyan, which was an AQAP stronghold. The government announced on 25 August that they recaptured the town, repordetly killing 12 to 19 AQAP fighters and losing 11 soldiers.

On 24 November, a suicide bomber attacked a convoy heading to the funeral of Badreddin al-Houthi, father of the founder of the Houthis, killing 1 person and injuring 8. The incident occured in Dahyun while the convoy was on their way to Saada. AQAP was suspected of conducting the attack.

### 2011

On 6 March, AQAP claimed responsibility for two attacks which killed 5 Yemeni soldiers altogether. 4 soldiers apart of the Republican Guard were killed in an ambush on a convoy in Marib governorate, while an army colonel was shot and killed in Zinjibar, Abyan.

On 13 May, an AQAP ambush on a Yemeni army convoy in Marib left at least 5 soldiers dead. The attacker had fired an RPG at the convoy.

On 31 March, amid the chaos caused by the Yemeni revolution, AQAP declared an "Islamic Emirate" in the southern Abyan governorate. Just days before, the group had seized the town of Ja'ar as well as many other areas within the governorate.

On 27 May, AQAP affiliate Ansar al-Sharia captured the capital of Abyan governorate, Zinjibar. More than 200 militants seized the town, killing 16 soldiers and freeing dozens of prisoners. Ansar al-Sharia entrenched itself into the city in the following days, repelling attempts by the military to enter the city on 31 May and on 7 June, and forcing 2 brigades to retreat on 21 June. Multiple tribes changed their allegiance from the militants to the military as fighting raged on in Abyan and more civilians were displaced. The Yemeni army along with allied tribes launched an offensive on July 17 attacking the city from the west. On 22 July, the army established control over a sports stadium near Zinjibar and waged fighting near the entrance of the city, while allied tribes secured a main highway leading to the city. Though the city was declared to be retaken by the government on 10 September, the government only controlled the eastern portion while Ansar al-Sharia still controlled the west. A deal was reached on 12 January 2012 to allow residents to return.

A prison break in Mukalla occurred in mid-June, freeing 63 AQAP prisoners and killing a guard. The prison was attacked by militants with artillery, allowing the inmates to escape through a 35-metre long tunnel.

On 30 September, American-Yemeni cleric and alleged AQAP member Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a US drone strike in the town of Khashef, al-Jawf governorate. The US government had previously placed Awlaki on a CIA kill list and froze his assets due to inciting and directing multiple terror plots in the United States, including the 2009 Fort Hood shooting and the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253. The attack had also killed Samir Khan, an American citizen from Saudi Arabia who, along with Awlaki, was an editor and publisher of AQAP's magazine, Inspire.

On 12 December a prison break in Aden freed up to 15 AQAP members. The prisoners had escaped via a 40-metre long tunnel.

### 2012

On 16 January, AQAP seized the town of Rada'a, Al-Bayda, just 100 miles south of Sana'a. A group of 200 fighters had stormed the town, freed at least 150 prisoners, killed 2 soldiers in clashes with the army and secured multiple weapons caches and military vehicles. The group later withdrew from Rada'a on 25 January after they reached an agreement with the government to release 15 of their fighters.

On 4 March, Ansar al-Sharia launched an attack on military artillery units in Dofas, a town located on the outskirts of Zinjibar. Fighters had attacked the base from the east to draw a response from the army before launching a larger attack from the west. The battle killed 187 soldiers and injured at least 135, with the militants seizing weapons, heavy artillery and tanks from the military.

On 7 April, AQAP attempted to gain control of Lawdar, a town close to Zinjibar that possesses an important strategic position between multiple governorates. Fighters surrounded the town before invading it, but the military and allied tribesman maintained a stiff defense. By 13 April at least 200 were killed in the battle, with AQAP forces suffering repeated losses within the town, forcing them to retreat to the neighbouring mountains. Fighting resumed on 18 April when AQAP attacked the town with mortar shells, triggering air strikes from the government. The army captured the nearby Yasouf mountains on 17 May, forcing AQAP forces to flee.

The Yemeni government launched an offensive in Abyan on 11 May in order to drive out AQAP forces from key cities. Over 20 and 21 May, 33 AQAP fighters and 19 soldiers would be killed from clashes in Ja'ar. On 21 May, a man wearing a belt of explosives carried out a suicide attack on military personnel preparing for a parade rehearsal in Sana'a for Unity Day. The attack killed over 90 people and injured 200 more. Ansar al-Sharia claimed responsibility for the attack as a response to the government offensive in Abyan. On 24 May, AQAP launched a counter-attack on the army in Ja'ar through the Wadi Bana. The attack resulted in the deaths of 35 of their fighters, bringing the total count to 215. Yemeni forces then proceeded to take control of Wadi Bana. By 3 June, Yemeni forces had pushed into central Zinjibar, while clashes were occurring near the western edge of Ja'ar. On 11 June the Yemeni Air Force launched attacks on the north and west of Ja'ar, killing 16 militants, while land forces were preparing to capture a key hilltop factory overlooking the town. On 12 June, both Zinjibar and Ja'an were confirmed as completely recaptured by the Yemeni government. Mines placed by retreating AQAP forces lead to 73 civilian deaths in the cities by 26 June.

On 18 June, an AQAP suicide bomber assassinated Yemeni general Salem Ali Qatan in Aden. Qatan had led the Abyan offensive which expelled AQAP forces from key cities in the governorate. The assassin detonated his explosive belt next to a vehicle transporting Qatan, killing him along with 2 other soldiers, along with injuring 12.

### 2013

On 17 July, deputy leader of AQAP Said al-Shihri was killed in a US drone strike in Saada governorate. Shihri had previously been declared "dead" by the Yemeni government on 10 September and on 24 January, though this was dispoven in both cases. In this case, an AQAP message officially announced that he had died.

On 5 December, an attack on the Yemeni Defense Ministry in Sana'a involving a series of bomb and gun attacks killed at least 56 people. After footage of the attack was aired on Yemeni television showing the destruction of a hospital within the ministry compound and the killing of medical personnel and patients, AQAP emir Qasim al-Raymi released a video message apologizing. Al-Raymi claimed that the team of attackers were directed not to assault the hospital in the attack, but that one had gone ahead and done so.

### 2014

On 9 May, at least 4 Yemeni soldiers were killed after a skirmish sparked when a vehicle attacked the gates of the Presidential Palace in Sanaa. Authorities claimed that AQAP was responsible.

On 26 November, United States Navy SEALs from DEVGRU collaborated with Yemeni special forces in a hostage rescue mission order to free American journalist Luke Somers, along with other hostages. The mission took place in Hadhramaut along the border with Saudi Arabia. The team engaged AQAP in a firefight near the cave housing the hostages, killing 7 militants. The raid rescued 8 hostages of various nationalities, but they did not include Somers, who was moved to another area alongside 4 other hostages days before the raid.

Later in December, AQAP published a video threatening to kill Somers within 72 hours. Another rescue mission occurred on 6 December in southern Shabwah. 40 SEALs backed by Yemeni special forces attempted to infiltrate the AQAP compound housing the targets, but they were spotted about 100 metres away, leading to skirmishes. 2 hostages, including Somers, were found shot within the compound, while the fate of the 3 others are unknown. Both hostages eventually died while being transported.

### 2015

#### Capture of Mukalla

On 2 April 2015, AQAP fighters stormed the coastal city of Mukalla, capturing it on 16 April after a two-week long battle. The seizure served as AQAP's larged success to date, being that Mukalla is the capital of Hadhramaut and the sixth-largest city in Yemen. The group seized government buildings and used trucks to cart off more than $120 million from the central bank, according to the bank's director. AQAP forces soon passed control to a civilian council, giving it a budget of more than $4 million to provide services to residents of the city. AQAP maintained a police station in the city to mediate Sharia disputes but avoided imposing its rule across the city. AQAP refrained from using its name, instead of using the name the 'Sons of Hadhramaut' to emphasize its ties to the surrounding province.

#### Fall of Zinjibar and Jaar

On 2 December 2015, the provincial capital of Abyan governorate, Zinjibar, and the town of Jaʿār were captured by AQAP fighters. Like Al Mukalla, AQAP forces soon passed control to a civilian council, police patrols and other public services.

### 2016

#### Southern Abyan Offensive

On 20 February 2016, AQAP seized the southern Abyan governorate, linking them with their headquarters in Mukalla.

#### Liberation of Mukalla

On 24 April 2016, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces entered Mukalla and commenced operations against AQAP, liberating Mukalla in 36 hours. The operation was hailed by US Defence Secretary James Mattis as a model of fighting terrorism.

Mukalla was then used as a base of operations by the UAE Armed Forces and Joint Special Operations Command, allowing the CIA to target AQAP strongest cells in Yemen.

### 2017

On 29 January, DEVGRU conducted a raid in al-Ghayil, a town in the Yakla region of al-Bayda. The raid was authorized in order to collect key AQAP documents and information, as well as the possibility of neutralizing AQAP leader Qasim al-Raymi, whom UAE intelligence suggested could be present. Originally meant to be unexpected, AQAP prematurely detected the SEALs, eventually leading to a heavy firefight in the village which claimed the life of 1 American soldier and wounded 5 others. 14 AQAP fighters were killed along with "valuable information" being gathered, but al-Raymi was not killed or captured in the raid. Additionally, at least 16 civilians were killed, including the eight-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, Nawar.

On 23 May, DEVGRU conducted another raid against AQAP in Ma'rib governorate, targeting a compound of the group. The US reported the deaths of 7 AQAP members and no civilians casualties, however, UK-based human rights group Reprieve reported that the raid had killed 5 civilians and wounded 6, with SEALs killing a blind villager as he walked out of his home and killing 4 more after they began arguing with them after the fact.

### 2018

In August 2018, Al Jazeera reported that the Saudi Arabian-led coalition "battling Houthi rebels secured secret deals with al-Qaeda in Yemen and recruited hundreds of the group's fighters.... Key figures in the deal-making said the United States was aware of the arrangements and held off on drone attacks against the armed group, which was created by Osama bin Laden in 1988."

According to the Associated Press, the Saudi-led coalition "cut secret deals with al-Qaeda fighters, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and wads of looted cash... hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself."

### 2019

On 7 April 2019, UAE and Security Belt forces launched a large anti-terror military campaign to clear a number of mountains and valleys located in the Mahfad town, then a key hideout of AQAP militants. UAE-backed Yemeni security forces succeeded in seizing arms and ammunition, including hand grenades, improvised explosive devices and communication equipment and AQAP militants fled to other areas.

On 2 August 2019, AQAP fighters stormed a military base in al-Mahfad district, remaining for several hours before military reinforcements drove them out. The attacks killed at least 19 soldiers.

On 30 August 2019, UAE airstrikes on AQAP in southern Yemen targeted a number of moving vehicles carrying AQAP members.

In September 2019, AQAP took advantage and deployed across Abyan and Shabwah in southern Yemen following the UAE draw down from Yemen and increased infighting between Houthis and Hadi forces. According to a local Yemeni official, the absence of the Shabwani Elite security units, that had been trained and equipped by the UAE, enabled AQAP to gain a foothold in the turbulent Shabwah again.

### 2020

On 31 January 2020, The New York Times reported three U.S. officials "expressed confidence" that Qasim al-Raymi was killed in an airstrike on 29 January in Yalka, al-Bayda. His death was later confirmed by the White House on 6 February and by AQAP on 23 February, with Khalid Batarfi being named his successor.

On 21 April, Houthi forces uploaded a video claiming to have captured a base of Ansar al-Sharia in al-Jawf governorate, amidst a wider offensive in the region against the Yemeni government. The video appeared to show explosive belts, ammunition, AQAP flags and documents.

The Houthis launched an offensive in al-Bayda governorate on 15 May as an extension of its offensive against the Yemeni government in al-Jawf. AQAP traditionally maintained a stronghold in the northwest al-Qayfa tribal area and wider al-Quraishyah District of the governorate. Due to this, AQAP shifted its main focus away from the Islamic State and towards Houthi forces, attempting to attract anti-Houthi tribes in the al-Bayda. By 11 August, the Houthis had been advancing rapidly towards northern al-Bayda, and by 19 August they had claimed to secure Wald Rabi' and al-Quraishyah districts. By the end of August, the Houthis had evicted AQAP out of many areas of al-Qayfa, dealing a major blow to the group.

On 15 August, AQAP killed and crucified dentist Motthar al-Youssoufi in As Sawma'ah, al-Bayda, accusing him of spying for the US government. On 25 August, they destroyed his clinic with explosives.

### 2021

Since AQAP was expelled from the al-Qayfa district in the northwestern region of al-Bayda in 2020, its activities in 2021 were largely confined to the Al-Sawma'ah, Dhi Na'im and Mukayras districts in the southeast, near the borders of Abyan and Shabwah. Despite their defeat in the governorate, almost 60% of AQAP activities were reported to be in al-Bayda. The group continued their campaign of retrenchment, reporting the lowest level of activity in several years.

On 4 February, a UN report indicated that Khalid Batarfi had been detained and imprisoned since October of the previous year after an operation in Ghayda City, Al-Mahrah governorate. AQAP later released a video featuring Batarfi to disprove their claim.

### 2022

Since 2022, AQAP has gradually shifted its activities towards the southern portion of Yemen after failure to regroup in the north, with more than 70% of the group's activities taking place in Abyan and Shabwah. After June 2022, there have been no recorded violent interactions between Houthi forces and AQAP. This may be the realization of a possible strategic shift within the group since 2020, whereby AQAP's main targets are now the Southern Movement and the Yemeni government, rather than Houthi forces. This change in strategy may be the result of AQAP's growing influence under Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian citizen based in Iran with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

AQAP kidnapped 5 workers a part of the UN Department of Security and Safety in Abyan on February 11. The group demanded a ransom and the release of numerous members imprisoned by the government of Yemen. The workers were eventually released in August 2023.

On 15 April, a prison break occurred in Seiyun, Hadhramaut governorate, allowing 10 AQAP members to escape. The prisoners collaborated with a few guards and AQAP militants from the outside, staging a fight before overpowering the guards and fleeing.

Large clashes occurred between AQAP and Security Belt forces on 6 May north of Dhale, Dhale governorate. AQAP members arrested by the Security Belt refused to disarm themselves once they arrived at Security Belt headquarters, leading to a battle which killed 2 Security Belt commanders and 7 AQAP fighters.

On 22 June, AQAP was suspected of launching attacks in both Abyan and Shabwah Governorates that killed 10 Yemeni army soldiers altogether. An ambush on a military convoy in Abyan killed 5, while an attack on a checkpoint in Ataq, Shabwah killed another 5.

In August 2022, the once-vaunted Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was shown to be greatly weakened when none of the group's leaders were deemed potential successors to Ayman al-Zawahiri as leader of al-Qaeda following his death. According to a UN report published in February 2023, Al-Adel is also said to have succeeded al-Zawahiri at al-Qaeda's center, likely further expanding his influence over AQAP.

The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) launched Operation Arrows of the East after the conclusion of a larger offensive against government allies on August 22, with the goal of expelling AQAP from Abyan governorate. The operation occurred amid a power vacuum within areas of Abyan which the pro-Yemeni government al-Islah party retreated from due to STC advances. The STC entered the governorate through Shuqrah and proceeded to push towards Lawdar as well as the border with Shabwah. In retaliation, AQAP activities surged heavily, with the group carrying out numerous attacks against STC forces, such as an attack on the Security Belt Forces in Ahwar district on September 6 which killed 21 STC soldiers and 6 AQAP fighters.

On 9 October, a roadside bomb detonated in Wadi Omran, leaving 4 Yemeni army soldiers dead along with several others injured. AQAP was responsible for the bombing, though authorities were unsure if the bomb was planted recently or before the group was defeated in the area.

### 2023

On 11 June, AQAP claimed responsibility for an attack on a military outpost in Shabwah, killing 2 Yemeni army soldiers and wounding 3. The attack was seen as a display of strength by AQAP despite its losses from the STC operation the previous year.

On 1 August, an AQAP attack in Wadi Omran left at least 5 STC soldiers and wounded another 4. The attackers utilized mortars, artillery and rocket-propelled grenades before retreating.

On 10 August, an AQAP bombing of a Security Belt convoy passing through Abyan left 3 soldiers and commander Abdullatif Al-Sayed dead.

### 2024

In an announcement on 10 March, AQAP reported the death of emir Khalid Batarfi, along the selection of his successor Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki. The announcement did not provide a cause as to how Batarfi died, leading to speculation that he had died by natural causes.

On 24 March, AQAP ambushed an STC patrol in Wadi Omran, triggering a firefight which killed 2 soldiers and wounded 4. The militants also burned the vehicle of the patrol group.

On 29 April, an AQAP IED attack targeted an STC military vehicle in Mudiyah District, Abyan. The blast reportedly killed six soldiers belonging to the Southern Armed Forces and wounded 11 others.

Ansar al-Sharia carried out a drone strike on UAE-backed forces in Wadi Omran. The attack was carried out with a UAV armed with a common modified air-dropped 40x53mm M430A1 pattern (HEDP) grenade on July 2024.

A suicide car bomb carried out by AQAP on 16 August against the STC targeted the military barracks of the Security Belt Backup and Support Forces' 3rd Brigade in Mudiyah, Abyan. The attack resulted in 16 soldiers killed and over 20 injured. The bombing served as the groups first suicide attack since March 2022.

## Operations and activities outside of the Arabian Peninsula

### 2009

On 1 June, American citizen Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad (formerly Carlos Leon Bledsoe) carried out a drive-by-shooting on a US army recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas, killing a soldier and injuring another. Muhammad had moved to Yemen in 2007, accepting a job to teach English. He was arrested by Yemeni authorities in 2008 for overstaying his visa and forging Somali identification papers, potentially in order to train with al-Shabaab. He was deported back to America in 2009. In a note requesting a plea deal from the judge, he claimed to be a member of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, though authorities and the lead prosecutor suspected that he had acted alone.

In the aftermath of the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas on 5 November, the FBI revealed that the shooter, Major Nidal Hasan, had communicated with Anwar al-Awlaki via emails from December 2008 to some time in 2009, though officials at the time didn't perceive it as a threat. The emails reportedly contained "social and religious guidance", but no evidence that the attack was directed by Awlaki or a foreign group.

On 25 December, Nigerian student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to bomb Northwest Airlines Flight 253 while it approached its destination in Detroit, Michigan. As it prepared to land, Abdulmutallab tried to detonate PETN explosives attached to his underwear, but the device failed to detonate properly. AQAP took responsibility for the attempted bombing on 28 December, claiming that they supplied the explosives to the perpetrator along with instructions to detonate it. Abdulmutallab had previously travelled to Yemen multiple times before the incident, once in 2005 in order to study Arabic, and again in the fall of 2009, meeting with and likely planning the bombing with various AQAP members, including Anwar al-Awlaki.

### 2010

A cargo plane bomb plot was discovered on 29 October, when two packages containing plastic explosives were found on cargo aircraft, based on intelligence received from government intelligence agencies, in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The packages originated from Yemen, and were addressed to outdated addresses of two Jewish institutions in Chicago, Illinois, one of which was the Congregation Or Chadash, an LGBT synagogue. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula took responsibility for the plot. It posted its acceptance of responsibility on a number of radical Islamist websites monitored by the SITE Intelligence Group and the Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation, and wrote:

We will continue to strike blows against American interests and the interest of America's allies.

It also claimed responsibility for the crash of a UPS Boeing 747-400 cargo plane in Dubai on 3 September. The statement continued:

...since both operations were successful, we intend to spread the idea to our mujahedeen brothers in the world and enlarge the circle of its application to include civilian aircraft in the West as well as cargo aircraft.

American authorities had said they believed that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was behind the plot. Officials in the United Kingdom and the United States believe that it is most likely that the bombs were designed to destroy the planes carrying them.

In November, the group announced a strategy, called "Operation Hemorrhage", which it said was designed to capitalize on the "security phobia that is sweeping America." The program would call for a large number of inexpensive, small-scale attacks against United States interests, with the intent of weakening the U.S. economy.

### 2012

American and Saudi intelligence agencies foiled an AQAP plot to smuggle a bomb onto a plane bound to the United States on 8 May. The CIA had detected the plot by mid-April, and dispatched an operative to pose as a suicide bomber for the group, requesting them to give him their explosives, which were promptly turned over to the CIA. The bomb was manufactured by Ibrahim al-Asiri.

### 2015

On 7 January, Saïd Kouachi and Chérif Kouachi attacked French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, resulting in 11 French citizens killed and another 11 injured. Before the attack, the French-born brothers of Algerian descent stated they were members of "al-Qaeda in the Yemen", to an eyewitness. On 9 January, AQAP confirmed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo shooting in a speech from top Shariah cleric Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari. The motive for the attack was to "gain revenge for the honor" of Islamic prophet Muhammad, who was depicted in a cartoon published by the newspaper.

### 2019

On 6 December, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani attacked Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida, killing 3 people and injuring 8. The Saudi-Arabian gunman was a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force and was undergoing flight training at the base. AQAP released a message on 2 February claiming responsibility for the shooting. The FBI later confirmed these claims on 18 May 2020, after breaking into Alsharami's phone and uncovering significant connections between him and AQAP since 2015.

## Ansar al-Sharia

In the wake of the 2011 Yemeni Revolution and the Battle of Zinjibar, an Islamist insurgent organization called Jama'at Ansar al-Shari'a (Arabic: جماعة أنصار الشريعة; Jamāʿat Anṣār aš-Šharīʿa), also known as Ansar al-Shari'a, emerged in Yemen and seized control of areas in the Abyan and surrounding governorates in southern Yemen and declared them an Islamist al-Qaeda Emirate in Yemen. There was heavy fighting with the Yemeni security forces over the control of these territories, with Ansar al-Sharia driven out of most of their territory over 2012.

In April 2011, Shaykh Abu Zubayr Adil bin Abdullah al-Abab, AQAP's chief religious figure, explained the name change as a rebranding exercise: "the name Ansar al-Sharia is what we use to introduce ourselves in areas where we work to tell people about our work and goals."

On 4 October 2012, the United Nations 1267–1989 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee and the United States Department of State designated Ansar al-Sharia an alias for AQAP, with the State Department describing it as an attempt to attract followers in areas of Yemen where AQAP had been able to establish territorial control and implement its interpretation of Sharia.

## U.S. drone strikes

A CIA targeted killing drone strike killed Kamal Derwish, an American citizen, and a group of al-Qaeda operatives (including Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi) in Yemen in November 2002. Drones became shorthand in Yemen for a weak government allowing foreign forces to have their way.

On 30 September 2011, a US drone attack in Yemen resulted in the death of Anwar al-Awlaki, one of the group's leaders, and Samir Khan, the editor of Inspire, its English-language magazine. Both were US citizens.

The pace of US drone attacks quickened significantly in 2012, with over 20 strikes in the first five months of the year, compared to 10 strikes during the course of 2011.

Over the period 19–21 April 2014, a series of drone attacks on AQAP killed dozens of militants, and at least 3 civilians. A spokesperson for the Yemeni Supreme Security Committee described the attacks, which included elements of the Yemeni army as well as US drones, as "massive and unprecedented". The attacks were alleged to have targeted AQAP leadership, with a major AQAP base in Wadi al-Khayala reported to have been destroyed.

From 1 through 8 March 2017, the US conducted 45 airstrikes against AQAP, a record amount of airstrikes conducted against the group by the US in recent history. The airstrikes were reported to have killed hundreds of AQAP militants. The US continued its airstrikes afterward. Around 1–2 April 2017, the US carried out another 20 airstrikes, increasing the total number of airstrikes against AQAP in 2017 to 75, nearly double previously yearly record of 41 airstrikes in 2009.

On 31 August 2019, at least 40 al-Qaeda operatives were killed in airstrike carried out by the United States on a training camp in presence of the leaders of Hurras al-Deen, Ansar al-Tawhid and other allied groups in Syria.

## Members

The group has taken advantage of Yemen's "slow collapse into near-anarchy. Widespread corruption, growing poverty and internal fragmentation have helped make Yemen a breeding ground for terror." More than two years later, on 25 April 2012, a suspected US drone strike killed Mohammed Said al-Umdah, a senior AQAP member cited as the number four in the organization and one of the 2006 escapees. He had been convicted of the 2002 tanker bombing and for providing logistical and material support.

Yemeni analyst, Barak Barfi, discounted claims that marriage between the militant group and Yemeni tribes is a widespread practice, though he states that the bulk of AQAP members hail from the tribes.

AQAP is a popular choice for radicalized Americans seeking to join Islamist terror organizations overseas. In 2013 alone, at least three American citizens or permanent residents — Marcos Alonso Zea, Justin Kaliebe, and Shelton Thomas Bell — have attempted to join AQAP. They count among over 50 Americans who have attempted to join terrorist groups overseas, including AQAP, since 2007.

Reportedly, as many as 20 Islamist British nationals traveled to Yemen in 2009 to be trained by AQAP. In February 2012, up to 500 Internationalistas from Somalia's Al Shabaab, after getting cornered by a Kenyan offensive and conflict with Al Shabaab national legions, fled to Yemen. It is likely that a number of this group merged with AQAP.The following is a list of people who have been purported to be AQAP members. Most, but not all, are or were Saudi nationals. Roughly half have appeared on Saudi "most wanted" lists. In the left column is the rank of each member in the original 2003 list of the 26 most wanted.


The Peoplepedia

# The Peoplepedia

## Abstract

The Peoplepedia: The Ultimate Reference on the American People is a 1996 book by Les Krantz and Jim McCormick. Covering "Americans and their habits...from serious to silly", it "purports to illuminate 'who we are and how we see ourselves'". It was written in three parts providing "statistical snapshots of American life": "The American Mindset" with popular opinions; "The American Collective" with facts about broad categories such as education or religion; and "Notable Americans" with biographical sketches. A review said it was "entertaining but, in some places, deceptive" and concentrated on men's biographies over women.


Yelena Godina

# Yelena Godina

## Abstract

Yelena Mikhailovna Godina (Russian: Елена Михайловна Година) (born 17 September 1977) is a Russian former volleyball player, who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at 2006 Volleyball World Championship in Japan and the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, as well as the 2004 FIVB World Grand Prix.

## Honours

- 1998 World Championship – 3rd place

- 1999 World Cup – 2nd place

- 2000 Olympic Games – 2nd place

- 2002 World Championship – 3rd place

- 2006 World Championship – 1st place

- 2008 Olympic Games – 6th place

## Individual awards

- 1999 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best blocker"

- 2006 World Championship "Best server"


Denny Hamlin

# Denny Hamlin

## Abstract

James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and operates 23XI Racing with basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

As a driver, Hamlin has won a total of 54 NASCAR Cup Series races, including the Coca-Cola 600 in 2022, the Southern 500 in 2010, 2017, and 2021, and the Daytona 500 in 2016, 2019, and 2020; he is the fourth person to win the race in back-to-back seasons, alongside Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and Sterling Marlin.

Hamlin has the most wins in the NASCAR Cup Series without a championship. Despite not winning the elusive title, he has been a perennial contender for it throughout his career. Except for the 2013 season, in which a collision with Joey Logano damaged his lower back and kept him out for a large part of the early season, Hamlin has competed in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in every season he has competed full-time (17 seasons as of 2023), including his rookie season in 2006 when he finished third in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings, capping off one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in modern NASCAR history.

Since 2023, Hamlin has hosted a weekly podcast on Dirty Mo Media called Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin where he offers extensive knowledge of both the business and racing side of the sport along with his co-host Jared Allen.

## Driving career

### Beginnings

Hamlin was born in Tampa, Florida, and lived in Chesterfield, Virginia, for most of his childhood. Hamlin began his racing career in 1988, at age 7, racing go-karts. By 1997 at 15, he won the WKA Manufacturers Cup. At the age of 16, he was racing mini stocks. In his first stock car race, at Langley Speedway, Hamlin won the pole position and won the race. He then progressed to the Grand Stock division in 1998 and moved on to Late Model Stock Cars in 2000. In 2002, he won ten Late Model races and surpassed that in 2003 with 25 wins, and 30 poles, out of 36 races. In 2004, while competing full-time in Late Model Stock Cars, Hamlin was signed to a driver development contract with Joe Gibbs Racing.

### NASCAR career

#### 2004–2006

In 2004, Hamlin competed in five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races with EJP Racing and had a tenth-place finish in his NASCAR debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park. He later ran his first career ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, finishing third in the No. 10 Pontiac for Fast Track Racing, owned by Andy Hillenburg. His final start of the year came at Darlington Raceway when he made his Busch Series debut. He started twenty-seventh (rain-out) but finished eighth in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Driven Performance Oil Chevrolet.

Hamlin ran the full season in 2005 after he replaced Mike Bliss in the No. 20 Rockwell Automation -sponsored Chevrolet in the Busch Series. He ended up finishing fifth in the final championship points standings as a rookie in that series, with 11 Top 10's and earnings of $1,064,110. Hamlin also ran his first NASCAR Cup Series races in 2005, making his Cup debut at Kansas Speedway as the driver of the No. 11 FedEx -sponsored Chevrolet. Then, it was announced that he would drive the No. 11 full-time for the 2006 season, after Jason Leffler was released, and made seven starts in the Cup series in 2005. He finished the Cup season with three Top 10 finishes in those seven starts and one pole at Phoenix International Raceway.

In 2006, Hamlin ran his first full season in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, and during the year he drove in both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series full-time. In Hamlin's first restrictor-plate race as a Nextel Cup driver, he beat all the previous year's (2005 season) pole winners in the 70-lap 2006 Budweiser Shootout. Hamlin became the first Rookie of the Year candidate to take home the Shootout victory. Hamlin achieved his first career Busch Series victory at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (March 5). On June 11, 2006, Hamlin scored his first career Cup Series win at the Pocono 500, where he also won his second career pole. He achieved his second career win on July 23, 2006, in the Pennsylvania 500 also at Pocono Raceway becoming only the 2nd rookie in Nextel Cup history to sweep both races at a track during the same season (Jimmie Johnson did so at Dover International Speedway in his rookie season in 2002), both from the pole position. In the Cup Series, Hamlin won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award and finished third in the final Cup standings, scoring the highest points finish for a rookie in the modern era of NASCAR, and the highest since James Hylton in 1966. Hamlin thus became the first-ever rookie to make the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, which he finished third in points.

#### 2007–2008

Hamlin started the 2007 Cup season by finishing 28th in the Daytona 500. He won his third career Cup race at the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Following that race, Hamlin finished 43rd in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway after being involved in a wreck early on in the event. This was the first-ever 43rd-place finish in his career.

Hamlin clinched a spot in the Chase for the Cup and was seeded sixth, 50 points behind the leader, but finished 12th overall in the final standings. In the Nationwide Series, Hamlin scored three victories including Darlington, Michigan, and Dover in the No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevy. He also finished 1st at Milwaukee, but Aric Almirola started the car and ran 60 laps before turning it over to Denny Hamlin. Almirola received the points, purse, and got credit for the win.

In 2008, Hamlin had a near-identical season as before but moved up to eighth in points, and won early in the season at Martinsville Speedway. He led 381 out of 410 laps in the 2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400, the most dominant effort of a driver since 2000, but cut a tire and finished 24th. He won four races in the Nationwide Series, driving both the No. 18 and No. 20 entries for Gibbs, as well as the No. 32 Dollar General / Hass avocados -sponsored car for Braun Racing.

#### 2009: 4-win season

He continued driving the No. 11 car in Sprint Cup in 2009, as well as sharing the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series. Hamlin won his fifth Cup career race at Pocono Raceway on August 3, 2009. Hamlin boldly stated at the final restart "I'm going to win this race." He followed through on the statement, moving from sixth to first and snapping a 50 race winless streak. The win was Hamlin's third at Pocono. It was especially emotional for the No. 11 team as Hamlin had lost his grandmother, Thelma Clark, that Friday.

Hamlin once again dominated the race at Richmond International Raceway and finally won at his home track. On October 25, 2009, Hamlin held off Jimmie Johnson to win the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He went on to win the Ford 400 at the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, capping off his 2009 season 5th in the overall standings with 4 wins, 15 top 5s, and 20 top 10s. Hamlin took the lead after starting the race in the 38th position and he led a total of 70 laps to capture his 4th win of the 2009 season.

#### 2010: 8-win season and runner-up in points

Hamlin entered the 2010 season with great expectations. Many believed he would be a favorite to unseat Jimmie Johnson as Sprint Cup Champion. On January 22, 2010, Hamlin tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while playing basketball. The decision was made to postpone his surgery until after the season. Hamlin announced on March 27, 2010, to have surgery on his left knee the following Monday. The decision was made to prevent further damage to his knee.

On March 29, 2010, Hamlin won the rain-postponed race at Martinsville Speedway in wild fashion. He beat his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Joey Logano, and Jeff Gordon to the finish line. Two days later, Hamlin had knee surgery to repair the torn ligament in his left knee.

On April 19, 2010, three weeks after his surgery, Hamlin worked his way from a 28th starting spot to restart 2nd with 13 laps to go at Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin was later able to pass Jeff Burton on the outside and hold off Jimmie Johnson to get his 10th career win and his second win in three races.

Less than three weeks later on May 8, Hamlin visited Victory Lane for the third time in 2010 at Darlington Raceway. He swept the weekend by winning both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series events. He became the first driver to do so at Darlington since Mark Martin in 1993. He won the Nationwide Series Royal Purple 200 presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts driving the No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing on Friday night. He started on the pole and led the most laps to win the race.

Hamlin started 8th in Saturday night's Showtime Southern 500 and went on to lead 108 laps and take the checkered flag. A few races later, Hamlin dominated at The Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 Presented By Target at Pocono Raceway, leading the most laps on his way to gathering his 12th career win, his 4th win of the season, and his fourth win at Pocono. A week later, Hamlin set a career-high fifth win of the season, when he won at Michigan International Speedway after starting 7th.

Later in the 2010 season, Hamlin finished 43rd in the Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This dropped him five spots in the Chase standings, placing him in 10th overall. Despite the drop in the standings, the top 10 drivers in the Chase were locked in after Atlanta, guaranteeing Hamlin a spot in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup.A driver error in the first Chase race on the part of Carl Edwards caused Hamlin to spin with 85 to go. With cars ahead running out of fuel, Hamlin barely lost to Clint Bowyer.

In the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway Hamlin finished the race in 9th and retained the points lead by 35 points over Jimmie Johnson. The following week at Kansas Speedway, Hamlin encountered a rough driving car and finished 12th, a finish that was not good enough to keep the points lead and fell into a deficit of 8 points to Jimmie Johnson, who finished 2nd. Then the following week at California he finished in the top 10 but still lost points to the 48 car of Jimmie Johnson.

At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hamlin led a lap (his first lead in the Chase) and finished in 4th, one spot behind points leader Jimmie Johnson, and lost another 5 points. But the triumph came at the 0.526-mile (paper clip-shaped) Martinsville Speedway; Hamlin came through with his series-leading seventh victory of the season. Hamlin won the pole and led the first 11 laps but encountered tire issues; he dropped back to 17th and finally worked himself up consistently to 5th until lap 471 with 29 laps to go, he took the lead from Kevin Harvick and held off a hard-charging Mark Martin to lead the final 29 laps and take his 3rd straight victory at Martinsville and his 4th at the historic track. He closed the lead to 6 points behind points leader and 5th-place finisher, Jimmie Johnson.

Next up was the Amp Energy Juice 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway. Hamlin started 17th but fell back and lost the draft. He went a lap down, but when a caution came out, he got the Lucky Dog and was back on the lead lap. He then worked his way up to a 9th-place finish, two spots behind points leader Jimmie Johnson. This put Hamlin another 8 points behind in the standings, totaling 14. Hamlin won the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and then led the standings by 33 over Johnson with two races to go. Next was Phoenix International speedway. Hamlin started 14th but got up to the front right away and was leading for almost the whole race. With 14 laps to go, Hamlin had to pit because he was short on fuel. He finished 12th. After the race, Hamlin was furious and threw a water bottle in frustration. With one race to go, Hamlin led Johnson by 15 points and was 46 points ahead of Kevin Harvick. In the last race, he lost the lead to Johnson after spinning out and ended up 39 points behind him with a 14th-place finish.

#### 2011

In 2011 Hamlin almost won the Budweiser Shootout, but the victory was taken away from him by Kurt Busch because, at the last second, Hamlin crossed the yellow line, on turn four to the finish line, in his attempt to pass Ryan Newman.

Denny struggled in the first 8 races where his only top 10 was a seventh at Las Vegas. However, when the series got to Richmond, Denny turned on the heat by winning both his charity event and the Nationwide race but would finish 2nd to teammate Kyle Busch. He would go on to finish outside of the top 10 once at Dover finishing in the top 20 and rebounded with finishes of 10th and 3rd at Charlotte and Kansas respectively.

After his 3rd-place finish at Kansas, he would climb to 11th in points – 1 point out of the coveted 10th as the series goes to his favorite track, Pocono, where he would have tied himself for the most all-time wins at the track if he had placed first. After a disappointing 19th-place finish, he moved on to Michigan, a track at which he posted a 1st and 2nd-place finish in 2010. Before the first practice at Michigan, oil pans unapproved by NASCAR were confiscated from the three JGR teams, including Hamlin.

After showing signs of sheer mediocrity during each practice and qualifying, Hamlin qualified 10th in the field. He showed signs of improvement at the very start of the race, Hamlin quickly slid back in the field and was in the 10th to 15th place range until beginning to improve with about 70 laps to go, deeming the adjustment on his loose racecar "a magic adjustment" On lap 158, with 42 laps to go, a penalty caused by an accident between Juan Pablo Montoya and Andy Lally allowed Hamlin to move to the front of the field by short pitting. Another caution on lap 192 moved the 11 car up to the first position. After a restart, Hamlin surged ahead of the group, with Matt Kenseth right behind him in the closing three laps. After desperately trying to move past Hamlin, Kenseth made a final attempt coming out of turn four on the final lap, causing him to almost hit the wall because of a loose race car. This win vaulted Hamlin from 12th in the standings, where he would have been replaced in the chase by Jeff Gordon if each stayed in their current position, to 9th, where he is guaranteed a spot in the chase. At the end of the season, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Mike Ford would not return as Hamlin's crew chief in 2012.

#### 2012: New crew chief and 5 win season

Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Darian Grubb will be Mike Ford's replacement as Hamlin's crew chief for the 2012 season. Grubb previously served as crew chief for Tony Stewart, where he helped Stewart to his third Sprint Cup title in 2011.

Hamlin scored his first win of the year in the second event on the schedule, at Phoenix International Raceway. On April 22, 2012, Hamlin out-dueled Martin Truex Jr. to score his second win in the eighth race of the year, at Kansas Speedway. At the Crown Royal Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard, Hamlin scored his eleventh pole. He won his third race of the year at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 26 in the Irwin Tools Night Race. A week later, he became the first driver of the year to have back-to-back wins, winning the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, again out-dueling Truex. Two weeks later, he dominated and won the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after starting 32nd, deep in the field. This was Joe Gibbs Racing 's 100th win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

#### 2013: Missing The Chase And Feud With Joey Logano

Hamlin started the season on a low note, crashing his cars in both the Sprint Unlimited and the Budweiser Duel. The crash in the Duel put him into a backup car for the Daytona 500. Hamlin started 35th, led 33 laps, and finished 14th. He improved the following week, with a third-place finish at Phoenix, then a 15th-place finish at Las Vegas. He led the most laps at Bristol but ran out of gas. The controversy unfolded after Hamlin spun his ex-teammate Joey Logano battling for position. This resulted in Hamlin and Logano exchanging words in the garage after the race.

At Fontana, Hamlin won his first pole for 2013. On the final restart, Hamlin restarted in 12th place, and with 12 laps left Hamlin reached third place before passing Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch for the top 2 spots with Joey Logano. His rivalry with Logano continued as the two fought side by side for the win in the last two laps. Heading into turn 3 on the white flag lap, Hamlin edged in front at the entry, but Logano drifted up the track into Hamlin. In his attempt to correct the car, Hamlin tagged Logano, sending the latter up into the outside wall, while Hamlin came off the banking and smashed head-on into an inside retaining wall. Hamlin's teammate Kyle Busch passed them to win the race.

Although Hamlin climbed out of the car right after the crash, he immediately collapsed and lay on the track. He was airlifted to the hospital as a precaution. When lying in the hospital Hamlin interpreted Logano's post-race words about their battle as Logano saying that he held a grudge against Hamlin and retaliated against Hamlin. It was announced the next day that Hamlin had suffered a massive L1 compression fracture or a collapsed vertebra. Dr. Petty, Hamlin's JGR doctor reported on Tuesday that Hamlin's back would heal in six weeks and Hamlin would need time off. Two of Michael Waltrip Racing 's part-time drivers stepped in to replace Hamlin, with Mark Martin filling in at Martinsville and Brian Vickers filling in for four races. He made his return at Talladega in the Aaron's 499 and told reporters that since he was not ready to run a full race, he would switch with Brian Vickers during the first caution and pit stop by a special exit on the roof attached to the car.

As planned, during a caution, Hamlin switched out with Vickers on lap 23. Under NASCAR rules, since Hamlin started the race, he would receive credit for any results. Vickers got caught up in a 14 car wreck on lap 43, relegating the car to a 34th-place finish.

At Darlington, Hamlin drove his first full race since his injury. He qualified sixth. In the waning laps, he held off Jeff Gordon to finish second to teammate Matt Kenseth.

At Charlotte, for the Coca-Cola 600, Hamlin clinched a pole position with a record speed of 195.624 miles per hour (314.826 km/h), breaking the previous speed of 193.708 miles per hour (311.743 km/h) set by Greg Biffle. During the race, Hamlin led six laps and finished in the fourth position.

At Dover, Hamlin started on the pole for the second week in a row. He led 41 laps before he cut a tire on lap 378 and hit the wall, causing him to finish 34th.

At Pocono, Hamlin started in 17th and finished in 8th place. He had shown some recovery.

At Michigan, Sonoma, and Kentucky, Hamlin did not fare well. Finishing in 30th, 23rd, and 35th place. He only got up to 25th in the points standings and 150 points behind 20th place. Without any wins, his chances of making a Wildcard bid for the Chase were nixed.

At Daytona, Hamlin started 24th and led 20 laps, before he got into a wreck off of turn 4 with Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex Jr. Hamlin stayed on the track, a lap down, and got the free pass with the next caution. However, on lap 148, Hamlin hit the tri-oval wall head-on, and then his car was struck by A. J. Allmendinger and went airborne.

He wrecked at Pocono on Lap 15 after losing control of his car in the third turn and solidified his chances of missing the Chase for the first time in his career (He ran 7 races in 2005 but his first appearance was at a Chase race). At Michigan, he was officially eliminated from the Chase even if he won the next four races because he was too far back in the points.

At Richmond, Hamlin got an apology text from Logano for their Auto Club incident, but Hamlin didn't return Logano's text message. In an interview a couple of years later, Hamlin said that he thought that Logano was just doing it to ask Hamlin to not interfere with his title hopes, and not because he was genuinely remorseful for what happened. Despite this, Hamlin and Logano said by next season that the feud was over.

Though Hamlin struggled to 23rd-place points finish, the season was not entirely unkind to him, as he won the season finale at Homestead after a fierce battle with Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. over the last 30 laps.

#### 2014: First Championship 4 Appearance

Hamlin started the 2014 season strong by winning the pole and leading all three segments of the Sprint Unlimited, eventually winning the race. Hamlin then went on to win the second of the Budweiser Duels. In the Daytona 500, Hamlin started third and led for 16 laps, and was the fan-favorite to win the race and sweep all three Sprint Cup events in Speedweeks, but was unable to overtake Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the last two laps and ended up finishing second.

At Auto Club, Hamlin came down with a sinus infection that affected his vision just hours before the race began. A half-hour before the green flag, Joe Gibbs Racing managed to place Sam Hornish Jr. to take over Hamlin's car for the race. Hornish drove the car to a 17th-place finish. The infection was announced a few days later as a piece of metal that had been lodged in Hamlin's eye. At Talladega, Hamlin won the race as the caution flag waved during the last lap.

At the Brickyard 400, Hamlin finished 3rd. However, his No. 11 car failed post-race inspection. NASCAR impounded the No. 11 car and investigated various pieces on it. 2 days later NASCAR suspended crew chief Darian Grubb and car chief Wesley Sherrill for six races, fined Grubb $125,000, docked Hamlin 75 driver points and Joe Gibbs 75 owner points, and put the No. 11 team members on probation until December 31, 2014. Initially, Joe Gibbs and the team decided to appeal the penalties but they changed their minds. On the penalty, Hamlin said, "We'll just simply move forward and not let this affect our performances." Despite the penalties handed to Hamlin's crew, Hamlin would be locked into the 2014 Chase due to his win at Talladega Superspeedway.

Hamlin's spot in the 2014 Chase was sealed up after the 2014 Michigan race with his Talladega win. At Bristol, Hamlin appeared to have a perfect car to win but after leading many laps Hamlin wrecked after contact from Kevin Harvick while racing for the lead. Hamlin replied by angrily throwing his HANS device at Harvick's car during a caution period. Some fans wondered if NASCAR should have penalized Hamlin for exiting his car before the safety workers came out (a rule made by NASCAR in the wake of the big tragedy in which Tony Stewart's car ran over and killed Sprint-Car driver Kevin Ward Jr.) but NASCAR did not penalize Hamlin, stating that safety workers first had told Hamlin to get out of the car by radio and then permitted Hamlin to toss his HANS device at Harvick's car. Harvick later apologized for causing the crash via Twitter while Hamlin said his acceptance of Harvick's apology would only depend on how to clean Harvick would compete with him in the future. Despite his and his team's shortcomings throughout the regular season, Hamlin managed to put together a consistent Chase. His results earned him a spot within the final four title contenders heading to the final round, and he was leading the race and the title with twenty laps to go, but a caution came out and Darian Grubb, his crew chief, decided to opt-out of stopping for fresh tires and fuel, which would turn out to be a costly decision. He finished 7th in the race, and 3rd in the championship.

#### 2015

Hamlin started the season by having to go to the rear in the Budweiser Duels after being penalized during Daytona 500 qualifying.

In the Daytona 500, he came very close for the second year in a row to win the race. He finished 4th and had one of the best cars of Speedweeks. However, at Atlanta, Hamlin finished 38th after being involved in a wreck with 42 laps to go. In Las Vegas, he rebounded from his wreck the previous week and finished 5th. However, at Phoenix, Hamlin did not run well all day leading to a 24th-place finish.

At California, Hamlin had one of the best cars of the race, leading 56 laps, second to Kurt Busch's 61 laps. A bad pit stop and a bad ensuing restart pushed Hamlin down to 13th, but he rebounded to 3rd place with 20 laps to go. Hamlin's chances of winning the race ended when he and his crew were penalized for an uncontrolled tire on their pit stop with 20 laps to go making him go to the tail end of the longest line. He restarted 29th and finished the race 28th.

At Martinsville Speedway, Hamlin stayed up in the top ten nearly all race long. Late in the race, he got penalized for an uncontrolled tire, sending him to the tail end of the field in 31st place. Despite this he formed a tremendous comeback, coming back into the top ten 50 laps later. After a good restart with less than 30 laps to go, Denny Hamlin sealed up his victory, but not before holding off a challenge by rival Brad Keselowski. Hamlin edged Keselowski at the stripe by 0.3 seconds (1 car length), for his 5th Martinsville victory, leading 91 laps in total. Hamlin, who had feuded with Keselowski during the 2014 Bank of America 500, commended Keselowski for not wrecking him to win the race.

At the spring Bristol race, Hamlin was replaced by Erik Jones after 22 laps due to suffering from neck spasms.

In May, Hamlin won the Sprint All-Star Race after beating Keselowski off pit road during final pit stops. This was not only Hamlin's first All-Star win but also the first JGR and Toyota All-Star win.

After qualifying for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Hamlin won the first race of the Chase at Chicagoland Speedway, which locked him in for the second round of the Chase.

At Talladega in the next round, at the end of the race, his car crashed and caught fire because of being caught up in "The Big One", which eliminated him from the Chase for not having enough points to advance.

#### 2016: First Daytona 500 Win

With new crew chief Mike Wheeler replacing Dave Rogers, Hamlin won the Sprint Unlimited. In the Daytona 500, Hamlin made a pass on Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth for the lead on the final lap. Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. were side by side for the win as they crossed the start-finish line, but Hamlin – who led a race-high 95 laps – prevailed by 0.011 seconds over Truex, making it the closest Daytona 500 finish in history, bringing owner Joe Gibbs his first Daytona 500 victory since 1993. At Martinsville, he was running well until he wrecked after jumping the curb and slamming into the wall and he would finish 39th. Further wrecks occurred at Kansas and Dover.

Hamlin ran both the Cup and Xfinity races during the Coca-Cola 600 weekend, winning in the latter and finishing fourth in the main Cup date. At Michigan in June, he suffered a blown tire with 12 laps remaining. He led Tony Stewart late in the Sonoma race before going wide entering the final corner, causing him to briefly withdraw as he braced for contact with Stewart before losing the win; amid accusations that he had intentionally let Stewart win in his final season, Hamlin clarified he had misjudged the corner entry. Despite the miscue, he rebounded in the season's other road race at Watkins Glen after managing his fuel, a process that was aided by two red flags and eight cautions, for his first road course win.

A third win came in the final race of the regular season at Richmond, a race that he started on the pole and won after holding off Truex and Kyle Larson. However, his Chase hopes were impacted when his engine failed with 26 laps remaining at Charlotte, and he would finish the season sixth in points.

#### 2017: 2 win season and feud with Chase Elliott

Hamlin had a difficult start to the 2017 season, in which there were many changes to how the races are run (the biggest change being the all-new stage racing). Hamlin picked up an 8th-place finish in Stage 1 of the Daytona 500 but got caught up in one of several 'Big Ones' at the end of Stage 2, caused by a tire blowout on the No. 18 Toyota Camry of Kyle Busch, and would finish the race in 17th. A dismal race in Atlanta followed, with Hamlin retiring from mechanical failures, and he was classified 38th. However, he bounced back in Las Vegas with a sixth-place finish and followed this up with another top-10 result in Phoenix. In the STP 500 at Martinsville, a track on which Hamlin is a 5-time winner, he claimed 2nd place in Stage 1, before suffering from firstly a bad pit strategy and then a collision with Danica Patrick, finishing 30th in the race.

Hamlin's Toyota began to improve dramatically after a mediocre Texas race and, through combining the new-found speed of his JGR car and his limitless talent on short tracks, earned two 8th-place finishes in stages 1 and 2 at Bristol and led a dozen or so laps of the race late on, but was passed by Jimmie Johnson in the final stage and subsequently fell back to finish 10th. He also led 50 laps at his home track at Richmond (also a short track), superbly jumping Brad Keselowski from 2nd place at the 6th restart, and would earn a 3rd-place finish in the race, along with stage points from both stages.

Hamlin's unique skills on restrictor-plate tracks shone through at Talladega Superspeedway the following week. He used pit strategy to take his first stage win of the year in stage 2, and also led more laps than any other driver, but this was not enough to get his first win, as he fell back late in the race. He took his second stage win of the year in Stage 3 of the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte and led the last 10 laps of that stage. However, Hamlin restarted poorly from the front and fell back to 10th on the first lap of the final stage. He would recover and work his way through the field, finishing 5th and earning valuable points in the standings.

Hamlin earned a respectable 8th-place finish at a wreck-filled Dover despite getting busted for an uncontrolled tire in Stage 1 and subsequently ran well at Pocono, finishing 12th after falling back late. At Michigan, Hamlin finished 4th after a tense battle with Kyle Larson on the final restart. He then returned to the road course at Sonoma, the scene of his duel with Tony Stewart in 2016 where he was passed on the last corner of the last lap. He led 12 laps during Stage 2 and remained in the top 2 throughout most of the race but he lost grip in his tires towards the end, losing 2nd to Clint Bowyer with 6 laps to go and then 3rd to Brad Keselowski on the final lap, just before the caution waved to end the race after Kasey Kahne crashed on the front straight. He finished 4th, adding to his 5th and 4th places in the two stages earlier in the race.

At Daytona the following week, Hamlin had a very quick car, leading 16 laps during Stage 2 and finishing a very close 2nd to teammate Matt Kenseth in that stage. However, Hamlin's Coke Zero 400 race on the 4th of July weekend ended in frustration as he suffered only his second retirement of the year. Hamlin got caught up in a 3-car incident with 3 laps to go while running 7th. He tried to get moving again before the car erupted into flames, ending his evening.

The next race in Kentucky brought another consistent top-5 weekend, finishing 4th and 5th in the stages and 4th overall, but it was the following week that Hamlin finally broke through. He came from 8th on the grid - finishing every stage in the top 10 (9th and 2nd) to then lead 52 laps on his way to victory in New Hampshire. This win marked Hamlin's 30th NASCAR Cup Series win, his 3rd career Cup victory at Loudon, and JGR's first win of 2017.

A dismal Indianapolis race followed, with a 17th-place finish after a blown tire in overtime cost him a top-5 result. However, Hamlin got back into the top 5 yet again this season at the Overton's 400 in Pocono. The race became all about 4 drivers, as he battled with Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Harvick throughout. Hamlin would end up finishing 4th after leading 18 laps and looking like a real contender to win his second race of the season. Busch went to victory lane, ensuring everyone that JGR was back up to their regular speed. Hamlin continued adding to his impressive amount of top-5 finishes for 2017 the following week, finishing 4th at Watkins Glen, the scene of the first road course victory of his career the year before.

Heading into the next race at Michigan, Hamlin's long-time partner Jordan Fish had reached the end of her pregnancy, and their baby was due at any point. Due to this, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Christopher Bell ran laps in Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota in practice as preparation to step into the car, if Hamlin's girlfriend would go into labor during the weekend. She did not, however, as Hamlin finished the race in 16th due to a bold strategy by the team to stay out on old tires until a caution flew, which did not happen as planned; he pitted just 11 laps from the end, and the caution he needed flew 2 laps later.

Hamlin earned himself a 3rd-place finish at the Night Race at Bristol after a very consistent run. The following week, at Darlington, Hamlin dominated both the Xfinity and Cup races. He outdueled Joey Logano in the Xfinity race on Saturday, using the crossover move on the last corner to cut underneath him and win. In the Cup race, Hamlin's 'Flying 11' was the most consistent and fastest car on the track. After leading 124 laps out of the 367 lap event, he drove on to victory and would get his 2nd win of the season despite a pit road mistake late in the race. However, his car would fail post-race inspection in both races after NASCAR discovered an illegal rear suspension element. Hamlin's wins would be ruled "encumbered" and he was docked 25 points as a result. His crew chief Mike Wheeler was fined $50,000 and suspended for 2 races. The Cup Series event would also mark Hamlin's most recent victory up until the 2019 Daytona 500, 47 Cup races later.

The final race of the regular season at Richmond provided yet another top 5 for the No. 11 car, but it could have been better. Kyle Larson won the race after beating Martin Truex Jr. in overtime, but on the final lap, Hamlin attempted to pass Truex for 2nd and slid his tires, collecting Truex and putting him into the outside wall. Hamlin recovered to finish 5th and later apologized to the 2017 regular-season champion.

The playoffs began very well for Hamlin as he added another top 5 to his amazingly consistent run of late, finishing 4th. This meant that his average finish of 6th over the last 10 races was the best in the field, and put him in an excellent spot going into the 2nd playoff race at New Hampshire, a race that Hamlin won in the summer and has won 3 times overall in his career. Despite his summer win at Loudon, he would finish 12th this time after a pretty average race. At Dover, Hamlin was able to collect stage points to clinch a spot for the Round of 12 but retired from the race with less than 30 to go due to a broken axle.

The Round of 12 began very positively for Hamlin, as he clinched the pole for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte race, his first pole of the season. He ran up front the entire race, earning useful stage points and eventually a 4th-place finish, which placed him 5th in the standings, 13 points above the cutoff line going into Talladega.

Hamlin started the round of 8 in a controversial Martinsville race, where at 3 laps to go, he bumped Chase Elliott on one of the turns, causing Elliott to spin out. Many fans believed that the wreck was done intentionally, as they booed loudly at Hamlin during his post-race interview. "I got into the back of him and he spun out," Hamlin told NBCSN. "Trying to get a race win... Everybody was doing the same thing. I hate it for his team. I understand they've had a win for a long time coming, but this is for a ticket to Homestead. " At Phoenix, on what it looked like Hamlin was going to get in the Championship 4 after grabbing 19 stage points and a stage win, his chances backfired as he slammed the wall with under 45 laps to go after contact from Chase Elliott, and did not make it to the final round as a result.

#### 2018: First Winless Season

Hamlin started the 2018 season with a third-place finish at the 2018 Daytona 500. Despite being winless throughout the regular season, he made the playoffs by staying consistent with seven top-fives and 14 top-10s. Hamlin was eliminated in the Round of 16 after finishing out of the top-10 at Las Vegas, Richmond, and the Charlotte Roval. He wound up 11th in the final point standings, his first time outside the top ten since the year he missed four races due to injury (2013) and winless for the first time in his career, snapping a 12-season streak of winning at least one race dating back to his first full-time rookie year (2006) when he swept both Pocono races to when he won the July New Hampshire race along with his second Southern 500 (2017). Hamlin's long-time rival, Jimmie Johnson, also did not secure a win in the 2018 season.

#### 2019: Return to the Championship 4 and 2nd Daytona 500

Hamlin started the 2019 season by breaking a 47-race winless streak with his second Daytona 500 win, first Cup Series win for new crew chief Chris Gabehart, along with dedicating the victory to the late J. D. Gibbs. He scored his second win of the season at Texas. At the spring Dover race, Hamlin was rushed to the infield care center for carbon monoxide poisoning after an accident knocked out his car's right rear crush panel and allowed fumes inside the cabin. Despite this setback, he stayed consistent throughout the regular season, scoring two more wins at Pocono and the Bristol Night Race. Despite a 19th-place finish at the Charlotte Roval, Hamlin collected enough points to advance to the Round of 12. At Martinsville, Hamlin collided with Logano on turn four, squeezing Logano into the outside wall and causing him to lose a tire and spin out two laps later. Hamlin finished fourth while Logano salvaged an eighth-place finish. After the race, Hamlin and Logano had a discussion on the incident before Logano slapped Hamlin's right shoulder, sparking a fight between the two. NASCAR suspended Dave Nichols Jr., the No. 22 team's tire technician, for one race for pulling Hamlin down to the ground during the altercation.

On November 1, Hamlin revealed that he has a torn labrum in his left shoulder and would have it surgically repaired after the 2019 season. Despite this, Hamlin went on a tear during the Playoffs, scoring his fifth victory of the season at Kansas only two weeks prior and ultimately advancing to the Championship 4 for the first time since 2014 with his sixth victory of the year at Phoenix, his second victory at the track since 2012 and the second time in his career that he had won at least six times in a season (having won eight races in 2010). At Homestead, however, Hamlin was a non-factor for the victory and Championship despite starting from the pole as he led only 2 laps, made an unscheduled pit stop to fix overheating issues after gambling with extra nose tape, and only recovered from a lap down to finish the race in 10th-place. He finished the season fourth in points in his first season with Gabehart as crew chief, a 7-spot improvement over the previous season along with six victories after being winless the year prior.

At the Xfinity level, Hamlin also won the Darlington race but was disqualified after his car failed to meet height requirements during post-race inspection. As a result, second-place finisher Cole Custer was declared the official race winner.

#### 2020: Third Championship 4 Appearance and back to back Daytona 500 wins

Hamlin won his third Daytona 500 in 2020 when he beat Ryan Blaney to the finish in overtime by 0.014 seconds, the second-closest finish in the race's history behind Hamlin's 2016 win. The victory was overshadowed by Ryan Newman 's wreck coming to the finish that resulted in hospitalization, sparking controversy over Hamlin's post-race burnouts while Newman's health was unknown; Hamlin and Joe Gibbs apologized for the celebrations, the former explaining he had not learned of Newman's status until he was in Victory Lane.

He dominated in wins at Darlington, Homestead, Pocono, and Kansas. At Homestead, he started on the pole and won both stages before winning the race, earning an immaculate 60 points in the standings. At Pocono, he followed up the first race of the doubleheader in which he finished second behind a noticeably slower Harvick with a win in which he stayed out late in the cycle pitted under green in the first place, and kept the lead after the pit. After Kansas, he took the lead in most wins with 5. He and Chris Gabehart were the teams to beat. With his win at Pocono, Hamlin passed Mark Martin for second most wins by any driver that had never won the championship. He would win the YellaWood 500 at Talladega that fall in a photo-finish over Matt DiBenedetto, although the win was mired in controversy as Hamlin went below the yellow-line on the final lap.

#### 2021: Fourth Championship 4 Appearance

On August 15, 2021, Hamlin clinched a Playoff berth despite having no wins throughout the Regular Season and finishing 23rd at the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard after being spun out by a penalized Chase Briscoe for the lead during a Green-White-Checkered attempt. Since part-time Cup driver A. J. Allmendinger won the race, which allowed Hamlin to clinch the 16th and final Playoff spot even if he were to remain winless. Afterward, Hamlin once again criticized NASCAR's decision to race in the road-course layout of Indy instead of the track's iconic oval.

On September 5, 2021, Hamlin won the Southern 500 at Darlington for the 3rd time in his career and advanced to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Three weeks later, Hamlin won his second race of the season at Las Vegas, his first victory at the track, and advanced to the Round of 8 as a result. During the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville in the second to last race of the season, Hamlin was leading with 7 laps to go racing with Alex Bowman when Bowman, was in the chase but got eliminated in the previous round, got into Hamlin's left rear and spun him in turn 3 bringing out a caution. Bowman would win the race with Hamlin finishing 24th but able to advance to the Championship 4. But after the race, Bowman was about to do his burnouts when Hamlin pulled up in front of him as if to prevent him from celebrating before he went to the nose of Bowman's car with the nose of his car and pushed Bowman's car by staying on the gas even giving him the finger before heading to pit road. He called Bowman "an absolute hack" and saying "he's fucking terrible" in his post-race interview. He made the Championship 4 for the third year in a row and finished 3rd in the final standings, with 2 wins, 19 top fives, 25 top tens, 1,502 laps led, an average finish of 8.4, and zero DNF's.

#### 2022: Feud with Ross Chastain

Hamlin started the 2022 season with a 37th-place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. Despite scoring a win at Richmond, he struggled throughout the first 12 races, with four top-20 finishes and four DNFs. On May 3, 2022, Gabehart was suspended for four races due to a tire and wheel loss at Dover.

On April 26, NASCAR announced that Hamlin would be mandated to go to sensitivity training due to a tweet that Hamlin had made. The tweet made fun of Kyle Larson 's block on Kurt Busch on the final lap of the 2022 GEICO 500 by using a Family Guy clip that featured an Asian woman driving poorly by not using her turn signals and changing lanes, causing a big accident. The tweet stirred up controversy as Larson was Japanese American. The tweet was made on April 25 and was deleted the same day, with Hamlin putting out a statement: "I took down a post I made earlier today after reading some of the. It was a poor choice of memes and I saw how it was offensive. It came across totally wrong. I apologize." Hamlin scored his second win of the season at the 2022 Coca-Cola 600. But Hamlin's 2022 season was most known for his rivalry with Ross Chastain as he and Chastain ran into many incidents during the 2022 season. It started at Gateway on June 5 during the 2022 Enjoy Illinois 300 when Chastain bumped into the back of Hamlin in turn 1 and sent Hamlin up and into the wall which ended his race. Fifteen laps after the incident, Hamlin blocked Chastain by slowing down and getting in his way. NASCAR eventually intervened and said Hamlin "had made his point." After Chastain had another incident with Chase Elliott during the same race, Elliott pushed Chastain up to the wall during the following restart with Hamlin following behind continuing to slow up Chastain showing his displeasure of how he was raced before eventually letting Chastain go. He won at Pocono, but was disqualified and the No. 11 team was served an L1 penalty after a post-race inspection revealed an alteration to the car's front fascia. It was revealed that the lower corners and wheel openings of the front fascia were wrapped with a layer of clear vinyl that was not removed prior to the application of the paint scheme wrap, resulting in a slight irregularity in the car's dimensions. Hamlin became the first NASCAR Cup Series winner to be disqualified since 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis was stripped of his win at Wilson Speedway for an oversized fuel tank. Hamlin was eliminated following the Round of 8 after Ross Chastain overtook him for fourth-place (Brad Keselowski was the initial fourth-place finisher before his disqualification) at Martinsville with an unprecedented maneuver by sliding on the outside wall to slingshot past Hamlin for the final Championship 4 spot of the season, marking the first time that he missed the final round since 2018. He finished the season fifth in the points standings.

#### 2023: Failure to reach Championship 4 and incidents with Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain

Hamlin began the 2023 season with a 17th-place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500. On March 15, he was docked 25 points and fined US$ 50,000 after admitting on his weekly podcast Actions Detrimental that he intentionally wrecked Chastain during the closing laps of the Phoenix race. In April, Hamlin was named as one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers. Hamlin won at Kansas after a tense battle with Kyle Larson, who got loose and hit the outside wall on the final lap allowing Hamlin to pass him for the win, winning the 400th career race for Joe Gibbs Racing in the process. At Charlotte, Hamlin was right rear hooked to the outside wall by Elliott; as a result, Elliott was suspended for one race. On July 23, Hamlin won at Pocono; it was his second win of the 2023 season and his seventh at Pocono Raceway, breaking a tie with Jeff Gordon for the most wins at the track. It was also Hamlin's 50th win in his Cup Series career and Toyota's overall 600th win. In addition, it was the first win for sponsor Mavis Tires & Brakes, who had only started sponsoring Hamlin a week earlier at New Hampshire. During the playoffs, Hamlin advanced to the Round of 12 after winning at Bristol. With his win at Bristol, Hamlin surpassed Junior Johnson for most wins by a driver without a championship. At the end of the year, Hamlin finished the season with 19 top tens, 14 top fives and the three wins at Kansas, Pocono and Bristol and finished fifth in points for the second year in a row.

Hamlin also returned to the Xfinity Series in 2023, after a two-year hiatus, driving JGR's No. 19 car to victory lane at Darlington in September. He was going to participate in the race again in 2022 but pulled out in order for his body to heal from a crash in the previous week's Cup Series race at Daytona in time for the Cup Series playoff opener the following day.

On September 4, Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing founder Joe Gibbs announced on Hamlin's podcast Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin that a multi-year contract extension had been reached to keep Hamlin behind the wheel on the No. 11.

#### 2024

Hamlin started the 2024 season with a win at the 2024 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum. He followed up his 17th-place finish in the Daytona 500 the year prior with a 19th-place finish in the 2024 event after being caught up in a wreck caused by William Byron, who later won the race. Hamlin scored his first pole position of the year at Phoenix, but spun out late racing Tyler Reddick for the lead early in the third stage of the race. He rebounded to finish 11th. The week after, he scored his first win of the season at Bristol. The Bristol race was the first spring race on the concrete since 2020, and was surrounded in controversy due to significant tire wear. The tire issues were most likely due to a strip of resin applied to the racing groove to increase grip, as well as cooler temperatures that did not allow the track to take rubber. Two weeks later, Hamlin won at Richmond in an overtime finish after his pit crew got him out into the lead. Just as his last win, this one was filled with controversy once again. On the restart in overtime, Hamlin seemed to accelerate before the restart line alongside Martin Truex Jr. Despite this, NASCAR deemed it as a clean restart, which declared Hamlin as the winner. He led 17 laps and extended his streak of leading a lap in all seven races to start the year. A month later, Hamlin scored his third win at Dover. On August 22, the No. 11 was issued an L2 penalty for an engine inspection violation after Toyota Racing Development admitted that the race-winning engine from Bristol was returned to their facility in Costa Mesa, California and rebuilt instead of being torn down and inspected by NASCAR after the race. As a result, the team was docked 75 owner and driver points and 10 playoff points, and Gabehart was fined US$ 100,000.

### Superstar Racing Experience

On February 1, 2023, the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) announced that Hamlin would compete in the 2023 SRX Series opener at Stafford Motor Speedway on July 13. He went on to win the event, which was shortened by lightning.

## Owner career

On September 21, 2020, Hamlin and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, a long time friend of Hamlin announced they would be fielding a single-car team for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, named 23XI Racing with Bubba Wallace driving the No. 23. On October 4, 2021, Wallace earned his first career Cup win at Talladega after the race was shortened due to rain. Wallace is the first Black driver to win a Cup Series race since Wendell Scott in 1963. The team expanded to a two-car operation for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season with the addition of the No. 45, driven by 2004 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch with sponsorship from Monster Energy. On May 16, 2022, Busch got 23XI's second career victory at Kansas Speedway after leading 116 of 267 laps. Bubba Wallace swept the Kansas races for the team that fall, driving the No. 45 in place of Kurt Busch, who was out due to concussion symptoms from a wreck at Pocono during qualifying. In doing so, Bubba became the first African-American to win more than one race in the NASCAR Cup Series. On July 12, 2022, 23XI and TRD announced that Tyler Reddick will join the team full time in 2024. However, when Busch announced on October 16 that he would step away from full-time racing in 2023, it was also announced that the remainder of Reddick's contract with Richard Childress Racing was bought out by 23XI and that he would instead replace Busch in 2023.

## In media

In 2016, Hamlin was a Fox NASCAR guest analyst for the Xfinity Series race at Talladega. A year later, he returned to Fox for the Cup drivers-only broadcast of the Xfinity race at Pocono, working in the Hollywood Hotel studio alongside Danica Patrick.

Hamlin, along with his Toyota teammates, recorded video clips on how to drive a lap at all of the NASCAR tracks on the 2016 circuit in the video game NASCAR Heat Evolution. He is also featured as one of eight playable drivers on the EA Sports NASCAR Racing arcade game, the only rookie to be featured in the game.

In 2021, Hamlin was featured in Post Malone 's music video for his song " Motley Crew ", along with driver Bubba Wallace.

In 2022, Hamlin was on the front cover of NASCAR Rivals, along with his car.

In 2023, he started a weekly podcast with Dirty Mo Media called Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin every Monday morning along with his co-host, social media manager, and friend, Jared Allen. The podcast includes content from the previous Cup Series race, weekly fan questions in a segment named "Dear Denny" and other race insights from Hamlin.

## Personal life

Hamlin is the youngest son of Dennis Hamlin and Mary Lou Clark. He was born in Tampa, Florida, at what is now St. Joseph's Women's Hospital, and moved to Virginia when he was two years old.

Hamlin and Jordan Fish have two daughters together. On January 1, 2024, Hamlin and Jordan Fish became engaged.

Hamlin has Ostraconophobia, also known as the fear of shellfish.

## Motorsports career results

### NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

#### Cup Series

#### Camping World Truck Series

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

### ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

### Superstar Racing Experience

(key) * – Most laps led. – Heat 1 winner. – Heat 2 winner.


William A. Porter

# William A. Porter

## Abstract

William A. Porter (1928–2015) was an American businessperson who, along with Bernard A. Newcomb founded the first electronic trading platform, E-Trade.

After the success of E-Trade, Porter also co-founded International Securities Exchange with Marty Averbuch and became the first chairman of ISE on his 70th birthday in 1998. Porter was the former chief executive officer, board member, and chairman emeritus of E-Trade.

In 2000, CNN called Porter the "forefather of online trading".

Later in his life he donated money to businesses and nonprofits benefiting organic farming, recreation and community building on Kauai's North Shore.

## Background

Porter was born to William Asbury Porter Sr.(1899-1965) and Dorothy Louise Bullock Porter (1905-1980). He was raised in Boulder, Colorado, and spent his childhood summers as a cowboy on a Colorado ranch. Porter quit high school to join the Navy during WWII and was expelled from the Navy when they learned he was only sixteen. Porter later put himself through college, finishing undergraduate work in three years and working nights as a crew dispatcher on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. According to a 2000 CNN interview, Porter attributes his self-confidence to his work as a young cowboy:

Hard, hard work. I used to get up at four o'clock in the morning and it was my job to go out and get the horses in and so forth and come in and eat and sit on a horse all day long. And when we weren't doing that, we were, you know, stacking hay or mowing the oats or, you know, whatever. When you're in the homesteading frame of mind you just do things because they're right and you have that self-confidence that just won't quit.

As a student at Adams State College, Porter and other students would take turns visiting and reading aloud to the aged and infirmed former governor of Colorado, Billy Adams.

### Education

Porter received a B.A. from Adams State College, an M.S. in Physics from Kansas State University, and a Master's degree in Management (M.B.A.) from the Sloan Fellows program at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

## Career

### First Company

Porter started Commercial Electronics Inc. in 1968 and developed the first commercial low-light night vision for electron microscopes and the first color low-light (night vision) broadcast television camera, a technology that's used today in all broadcast cameras. Porter sold Commercial Electronics to Warner Communications after the cancellation of a large order during the 1974 recession.

### Patents

Porter holds 14 patents, having developed a number of electronic devices and processes—including for the aforementioned "first" shoulder-mounted-backpack broadcast color TV camera, the first infrared horizon sensor for satellite stabilization (prior to Sputnik), and several other breakthroughs still in use today in a variety of fields—including, according to the 2000 CNN interview, devices used by the US military to this day.

### The Search

Under the project name The Search, Porter developed the first electronic diesel-electric locomotive "checkoutsystem," whereby a testing device could be inserted into a locomotive engine. The Southern Pacific and B&O Railroads suggested the system could improve operating capacity of the approximately 33,000 locomotive engines in the US by roughly 10 percent.

### Management and Directorships

Porter has served as Chairman of Trelleborg Rubber Company, President of Tretorn Shoes, and President of Commercial Electronics Incorporated (see below). Porter was Director of Research and Planning for Textron from 1962–67, and Research Manager and Electrical Engineer of General Electric 's Advanced Electronics Center at Cornell University from 1957–62. He was a physicist with the National Bureau of Standards from 1952–1957.

## Creation of E-Trade

In 1980, in Palo Alto, Porter met Bernie Newcomb at a party. Having recently purchased an Apple II computer, Porter had the idea that a personal computer could be used to buy and sell stock. Having no means of accessing the necessary information with his modem, Porter convinced Newcomb to become his partner and together create a company that would enable any individual with a personal computer to trade stocks from their home—thereby disintermediating stock trades. Newcomb developed the programming which enabled the project to succeed.

According to Porter, the first actual trade, made on July 11, 1983, was made by a dentist in Michigan.

In 1992, PC Magazine featured Trade*Plus on its cover. In 1992, The San Jose Business Journal named Trade*Plus the year's fastest growing private company in Silicon Valley. In 1996, Trade*Plus was renamed E-Trade Group and went public. Newcomb retired soon after and established a philanthropic foundation, the Bernard A. Newcomb Foundation.

## Personal life and philanthropy

Porter had three children from his first wife, Ada Guthrie, now deceased. He and his second wife Joan, who has one child from a previous marriage, had homes in Portola Valley, California, and Princeville, Hawaii. Together, the Porters had ten grandchildren. Joan Porter was the founder and president of the Stillheart Institute in Woodside, CA (2003-2014).

In 1999, Porter and his wife Joan gave $25 million to the MIT Sloan School of Management.

My wife and I decided to give one major thing that would have significant meaning for humankind, and trying to leverage the Institute's technological capability through entrepreneurship for the betterment of the human condition is it.

In 2007, the Porters gave 250,000 shares of E-Trade stock to Adams State College (worth approximately $5.8 million at the time), the largest gift in school's history.

Porter died October 15, 2015, at home in Princeville, Hawaii.