#11-Denny Hamlin was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the August 26 Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hamlin took the honor for the 13th time this season and was the only first-year driver to finish inside the top-10. He leads Clint Bowyer by 53 points (244-191) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the September 3 Sony HD 500 at California Speedway. Hamlin is sixth in the Nextel Cup Series championship standings. He trails fifth-place Jeff Gordon by 21 points and leads seventh-place Jeff Burton by six. A Raybestos Rookie has finished in the top 15 in all 24 races this season. Hamlin has led 24 times in eight races for a total of 337 laps, 726.608 miles, best among the Raybestos Rookie class. J.J. Yeley was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in Februarys Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, claiming an eighth-place finish. Kyle Busch became the first Raybestos Rookie to win a race at California Speedway when he captured the 2005 Sony HD 500 [NOT TRUE: guess Raybestos forgot about Jimmie Johnson in 2002 when he won as a Rookie]. A Raybestos Rookie has won the pole position in 3 of the last 5 races at California Speedway.(Goodyear PR). See more notes, standings, history on the 2006 Rookies Page.(9-1-2006)
