Denny Hamlin was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the June 25 Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon (Sonoma, Calif.) Raceway. Hamlin finished 12th and took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the ninth time this season. Hamlin stretched his lead in the Raybestos Rookie standings to 31 points (185-154) over Clint Bowyer entering the July 1 Pepsi 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. A Raybestos Rookie has finished in the top-15 in all 16 races this season. Hamlin is 11th in the NEXTEL Cup Series championship standings, nine points behind 10th-place Kevin Harvick. He holds an 11-point advantage over 12th-place Kyle Busch. Travis Kvapil was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Pepsi 400, scoring a 23rd-place finish. Kvapil was the only first-year driver to finish on the lead lap. Greg Biffle is the only Raybestos Rookie to win the Pepsi 400. Biffle won the race in 2003, scoring his first career win in the Nextel Cup Series. Biffle crossed the finish line 4.102 second ahead of second place finisher Jeff Burton and led only once, covering the final 21 laps. He was the only Raybestos Rookie to score a win during the 2003 season. Since 1975, only three Raybestos Rookies have scored a top-five finish in the Pepsi 400: 1979: Dale Earnhardt, third 1993: Jeff Gordon, fifth 2003: Greg Biffle, first (Raybestos PR) See rookie points, best for each race, rookie history and more on my Rookies Page.(6-30-2006)
