#11-Denny Hamlin was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the November 12 Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Hamlin finished third, his seventh top-five and 19th top-10 finish of the 2006 season. He took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the 17th time in 35 races. Hamlin is fourth in the Nextel Cup Series championship standings, 90 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. He is 27 behind second-place Matt Kenseth and leads fifth-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 25. A Raybestos Rookie has finished in the top 15 in all 35 races this season. Hamlin and Jeff Gordon are the only Chase drivers to score six top-10 finishes in the nine races in the Chase. Hamlin leads Clint Bowyer by 60 points (294-234) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the Nov. 19 Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Tony Stewart is the only Raybestos Rookie to win a Nextel Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He won the inaugural Ford 400 in 1999 by 5.289 seconds over Bobby Labonte. Stewart led the race four times for 44 laps. The only other Raybestos Rookie to score a top-five finish in six previous races at Homestead is Casey Atwood, who finished third in 2001 and led the most laps (52). The only Raybestos Rookie to win a pole in six Nextel Cup races at Homestead is Jamie McMurray in 2003. Tony Stewart owns the best points finish by a Raybestos Rookie in the sports modern era (post 1971), placing fourth in the championship standings in 1999. James Hylton holds the best points finish by a Raybestos Rookie in the sports history, a second-place effort in 1966.(Raybestos PR), for the full notes, history, standings and more, see the 2006 Rookies Page.(11-16-2006)
