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SUPER AT THE SHOOTOUT Denny Hamlin’s first race at the famed Daytona International Speedway as a NASCAR Cup Series driver was a memorable and historical one. Competing in the Budweiser Shootout a week before the Daytona 500 in 2006—a special race open only to drivers who had claimed a pole position in a Cup race the year before or were a past winner of the Shootout—he nipped Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the finish line, becoming the first rookie to ever win in the race’s 28-year history. It also marked just the fifth time that a driver had won the Shootout in his first appearance. Facing a field of legendary and intimidating drivers with thousands of laps of experience and hundreds of big wins among them, it was the rookie Hamlin who was steady and spectacular under the pressure. Navigating a tricky race filled with bumper bumping, he led 16 of the 70 laps while showcasing that he belonged among racing’s best.

Denny Hamlin won the Budweiser Shootout as a rookie in 2006 at Daytona, beating an elite field of drivers for one of his signature wins early in his career.

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Superstars of the Speedway: Denny Hamlin