Darnell unofficially finished 12th in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship standings. Darnell is the first Raybestos Rookie to score a top-five finish at Homestead since David Reutimann placed fourth in 2004.

Darnell was one of two Raybestos Rookies to win pole positions this season (Marcos Ambrose was the other). Darnell took the top staring spot for the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway (race No. 16).

For the second consecutive race, Chad McCumbee was the only Raybestos Rookie to lead a lap in a Craftsman Truck Series race. He led the race once for one lap.

McCumbee is just the third Raybestos Rookie to lead a lap in 10 Craftsman Truck Series races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The others:
1997: Kenny Irwin (led 13 laps)
2003: Carl Edwards (led once for three laps)

Erik Darnell, No. 99 Woolrich Ford:
You are officially Raybestos Rookie of the Year. "That's sounds cool. Our whole Woolrich team has been pretty good. I can't thank John Quinn and the guys enough. We had a couple of problems on pit road tonight and I think that cost us a little bit. We were able to make adjustments on the truck and fight back and get a good finish out of it."

Do you think you have built a good foundation for next year? "Definitely. The way we've been running these last seven races, I think we went out with like five top-10s in a row to end the year, I just think is going to be a good building block for next year. I think we're going to be a championship contending team. I really believe that and I think we've showed the last couple of weeks that we're going to be able to run up front."

How did you need for the race to play out for you to have a chance to win? "A little bit better pit stops to be honest with you. We came in the second pit stop there and went out 17th, which kind of put us behind, and we drove back up to sixth. And the guys nailed the third pit stop and did a good job. I probably just didn't get going as quick as I should have and it cost me a little bit there because I had a hard time running down Brendan. I think in about five more laps I would have had him or at least been racing him for second but I don't think I had anything for Mark tonight."

This is your first race at Homestead. Do you like the place? "I do like the place. It's neat. It reminds me a lot of Atlanta as far as the racing surface out there. You can go on the bottom, you can go on the top, you can be three or four-wide out there and not have a problem. This progressive banking, you can't say enough about it just because it does make for really good racing. Our first trip here, we'll take a third."

It looked like this was a fun race to be in. "It was a lot of fun, to be honest with you. High, low, you can go anywhere out there and run. You saw how long it took for Mark to get around Brendan there. Again, it just makes for real good racing. And it was a lot of fun. You could try to set up a guy on the bottom. If you couldn't get 'em, you could try to set 'em up on the top. Wherever you were running the best was where you'd go and we had a pretty good run."

Talk about your run tonight. "John Quinn and all the guys on this whole Woolrich team did a great job tonight. We kind of got bit on pit road a couple of times there but the guys really nailed the third stop and got us out in pretty good track position and John made the right adjustments on the truck. The thing was pretty good there at the end. We didn't have quite enough for Mark. I think about five more laps we'd have been able to race Brendan but in our first trip to Homestead we'll take a third."

Comment on achieving the dream of Raybestos Rookie of the Year in the Craftsman Truck Series. "Well, that was our ultimate goal when we started off the beginning of the year. If you look at who Jack's [Roush, team owner] brought through the truck series: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle Kurt Busch, those guys that he's had in this truck and they've all gone on and won Raybestos Rookie of the Year in the truck series and gone on to great things in NEXTEL Cup. That's my ultimate dream out here and I think this is our first step toward achieving that goal."

John Quinn, Crew Chief, No. 99 Woolrich Ford:
"It's pretty cool that this 99 truck has been able to produce Raybestos Rookie of the Years like it has. Jack does a great job selecting these drivers. And when you put good talent behind the wheel and he gives us good equipment, it makes it, I'm not going to say easy, but you've got a good shot at it when you work over here."

You had a solid season. "Yeah, we were pretty solid. We kind of fell off the radar a little bit there in the middle part of the year and got a little lost but we turned right around and come right back. We had a good year."

What do you have to do to improve? "Be a little bit more consistent, absolutely. We have the team and the capability and the driver to run in the top-10 every night. The team was new. Myself, I'm new to crew chiefing and Erik was new to the series and all these guys, there are a lot of new positions on this team. We just need that second time around, that experience, and we'll be fine. We'll come get 'em."

Realistically, what could Erik Darnell accomplish next season? "Realistically, Erik Darnell could run for championship next year. No doubt in my mind."

Darnell Press Conference
"Our truck tonight was really good. John Quinn and all the guys did a great job. Our whole Woolrich team did a great job. We had a couple mishaps in the pits there that got us behind a little bit but they really nailed the third stop and we were able to get some good track position and make a run there toward the end. We weren't as good as Mark and we were catching Brendan there. We just kind of run out of laps. The season as a whole, I really can't complain. We had a decent year, not quite what I was looking for. I didn't quite get some of the goals that I was looking for but to come out of here where we did and to win the Raybestos Rookie of the Year deal, that was kind of our ultimate goal coming into the season. Mission accomplished, as far as that goes."

What does this mean in term of momentum in terms for 2007? "Well, for us it's pretty big. I think we ended up in the last five races running in the top-10 in all of them and I think that just shows how well we've come together as a team, myself and John Quinn working together and just everybody on the team in general." I think it's going to give us quite a bit of momentum coming into next year. The last six or seven races of the year is just kind of a preview for what's to come next year. I'm hoping to run up front and we're looking to be a championship contender."

Erin Crocker, No. 98 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge:
"It's disappointing because it's the last race of the year. The guys have worked really hard all year and I've had a great opportunity. Hopefully tomorrow in the Busch race I can make up for it and we'll be back with some truck races next year. It's like Texas. We had a good weekend last weekend and I was really excited for the team and it felt really good for me. We were decent in practice and good with the Busch car so I was hoping to top off the year with a good weekend. We'll be back and we'll race tomorrow and we'll be back next year."