To win a race in your rookie season is no small task. To win two puts you in an even more exclusive club.
Denny Hamlin did just that in 2006, coming out of the gate swinging in his first full-time season in Joe Gibbs Racing’s now famed No. 11 car. He won the 2006 Busch Clash (then called the Budweiser Shootout), a non-points paying race historically run before the Daytona 500, and a few months later locked up a points-paying win at Pocono Raceway in the Pocono 500 in June.
RELATED: Recap all of Hamlin's wins | Career highlights for HamlinHamlin didn't stop there. When the series returned more than a month later, Hamlin snagged yet another pole and the win, sweeping both Pocono weekends in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Relive both the Pocono 500 and the Pennsylvania 500 from Hamlin’s rookie season as the short-track racer from Virginia cemented his place in NASCAR's highest level.
Pocono 500: https://youtu.be/qjjLb_t4UWs Pennsylvania 500: https://youtu.be/Nk5OvqeaWMQ