Marcos Ambrose was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the September 23 Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ambrose placed seventh, his third top-10 finish of the season, and took top rookie honors for the third time this season. He led the Las Vegas race once for 12 laps and was the only first-year driver to lead a lap in the event. Raybestos Rookies Kraig Kinser and Aric Almirola also posted strong finishes at Las Vegas. Kinser placed ninth, his first top-10 effort of the 2006 season. Almirola grabbed a 10th-place finish, his third top-10 this season. Erik Darnell leads Chad McCumbee by 39 points (173-134) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the October 7 John Deere 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. Rookie point standings: Erik Darnell, 173; Chad McCumbee, 134; Aric Almirola, 137; Marcos Ambrose, 116; Bobby East, 97; Joey Miller, 96; Boston Reid, 96; Kerry Earnhardt, 92; Erin Crocker, 83; Kraig Kinser, 78; Kyle Krisiloff, 70; Robert Richardson, 53.(Raybestos PR)(10-2-2006)
