Erik Darnell was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the August 23 O’Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Darnell was credited with an 18th-place finish and took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the ninth time this season. Darnell leads Chad McCumbee by 32 points (162-130) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the September 16 New Hampshire 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Two Raybestos Rookies have won pole positions this season: Darnell and Marcos Ambrose. Darnell took the top staring spot for the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway while Ambrose won the pole for the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway. Ambrose is the only Raybestos Rookie to capture WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors in the Craftsman Truck Series this season. Ambrose led twice for 49 laps to claim the honor in the Built Ford Tough 225. Darnell is 14th in the Craftsman Truck Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos Rookie. He trails 13th-place Brendan Gaughan by seven points and leads 15th-place Mike Skinner by 10. Todd Kluever was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2005 New Hampshire 200 at New Hampshire, claiming a 28th-place finish. Rookie point standings: Erik Darnell, 162; Chad McCumbee, 130; Aric Almirola, 116; Marcos Ambrose, 96; Joey Miller, 96; Boston Reid, 92; Bobby East, 88; Kerry Earnhardt, 79; Erin Crocker, 76; Kyle Krisiloff, 70; Kraig Kinser, 67; Robert Richardson, 48; Scott Lagasse Jr., 33; Ryan Moore 28.(Raybestos PR)(9-12-2006)
