Raybestos Rookie Happy Hour speeds:
Denny Hamlin 9th
Clint Bowyer 17th
David Stremme 21st
Martin Truex Jr. 25th
Reed Sorenson 27th
J.J. Yeley 28th
Brent Sherman 43rd

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER HAPPY HOUR QUOTES FOR THE FOOD CITY 500 NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES RACE AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY, MARCH 25, 2006.

Raybestos Rookie Denny Hamlin posted the fastest overall time in the first practice session this morning and was ninth in the final practice. He will start 33rd in Sunday’s Food City 500.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FEDEX EXPRESS CHEVROLET: YOUR CAR WAS FAST IN THAT FIRST PRACTICE THIS MORNING. “We were able to run a fast lap, but the car struggled a little bit on the long run. We got it quite a bit better on the long run. We gave up a little bit on the short end but we made big gains on the long run so that’s what counted.” HOW BIG OF A FACTOR HAS THE WEATHER BEEN TODAY? THERE WERE SNOW FLURRIES DURING PRACTICE. “It’s a factor. It definitely takes longer to get heat in the tires. It seems like we can run our fastest lap 20 laps into a run. It’s definitely a lack of grip because it’s so cold and the concrete keeps the track surface cold. It’s something that we definitely have to be aware of.” IS THIS ONE OF THE TRACKS THAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE AT BECAUSE OF YOUR SHORT TRACK BACKGROUND? “A little bit. This really isn’t my forte. I mean, it is a short track but it’s not one of my favorites but once we get to next week we’ll be in good shape.” DOES THE TRACK CHANGE HERE ON A LONG RUN? “The car stays pretty consistent. We really lost overall grip. There’s a lot of cars slipping and sliding and there’s a lot of good cars. Hopefully we end up in the front.” IS THIS A WEEKEND WHERE THE BUSCH CAR IS A BIG HELP TO THE CUP CAR? “This week I definitely think it was a benefit. Going from the Busch car and being able to jump back in the Cup car definitely seemed to be quite a bit easier transition than if I had just have gone to the Cup.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 07 JACK DANIEL’S CHEVROLET: “We were real happy with the balance and it drove good. I got into an altercation there pulling on to the track. Three of them went around me and he hit me [SMILES]. There were four in a line there and like I say, I pulled out in front of them and I wasn’t quite up to speed so I moved down and kind of split the apron and the track and I don’t know what happened. I guess I was in his way [LAUGHS].” PRACTICE BECOMES MORE INTENSE NEAR THE END OF THE SESSION. HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO BLEND IN LINE? “It was hard, just like you said. That time in practice, the last 10 minutes of practice everybody is digging hard to try to find that last bit of speed. We were good. I’m happy with the car. We’ve just got to do a little cosmetic bodywork and we’ll be just fine.” IS THERE ANYTHING BENT ON THE CAR? “We’re fine.” IS THIS A WEEKEND WHERE THE BUSCH CAR IS A BIG HELP TO THE CUP CAR? “Yeah, I think just laps. I tell you what, this is the first track I’ve been to where they drive so much different. You’ve got to let that Cup car roll and it doesn’t rotate that center like that short Busch car does. I had a little bit of trouble there, a little bit of a learning curve, but we were able to overcome it and make the ol’ hotrod pretty good.” WAS THE COLD WEATHER AND SNOW FLURRIES A FACTOR IN PRACTICE? “No, it just adds a little character to it [SMILES].”