#11-Denny Hamlin was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the Oct. 22 Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin finished second, .544 seconds behind race winner Jimmie Johnson. He claimed his sixth top-five and 16th top-10 finish and took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the 15th time this season. Hamlin is fourth in the Nextel Cup Series championship standings, 47 points behind leader Matt Kenseth. He leads fifth-place Jeff Burton by one point and sixth-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 47. Hamlin leads Clint Bowyer by 54 points (277-223) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the October 29 Bass Pro Shops 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. A Raybestos Rookie has finished in the top 15 in all 32 races this season. Reed Sorenson was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the March race at Atlanta (race No. 4) earlier this season, scoring a 10th-place finish. Kyle Busch was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Bass Pro Shops 500, posting a 12th-place finish. Busch also led the race once for four laps. Since 1975, the late Kenny Irwin is the only Raybestos Rookie to win a pole at the fall race in Atlanta. Irwin grabbed the top spot for the 1998 Bass Pro Shops 500. The best finish by a Raybestos Rookie in the fall race at Atlanta (since 1975) is second by Dale Earnhardt in 1979. Earnhardt finished one-half car length behind winner Neil Bonnett.(Raybestos PR), see rookie standings, history, facts on the 2006 Rookies Page.(10-27-2006)
