Hamlin gets FedEx ride for 2006.

Just six weeks ago, FedEx's first year as primary sponsors of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing team looked little short of catastrophic as initial driver Jason Leffler battled with plenty of new team blues.

Anxious not become anonymous in their first high-profile year as a Nextel Cup team sponsor, FedEx began early auditions for Leffler's 2006 replacement during the summer, first handing the car to former series champion Terry Labonte, whose ability to use the past champions provisional all but guaranteed the #11 team a place on the starting grid. Once Labonte's skills had pushed the #11 team back into the top 35 in team standings, attention turned to two of Gibbs' young guns, JJ Yeley and Denny Hamlin.

On the day of the inaugural Dickies 500 in Texas, less than one month after he first stepped in to the #11 FedEx Chevrolet, less than 12 months on from his debut in the NASCAR Busch Series and an incredible 15 months on from his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Hamlin was named as the full-time driver of the #11 Chevrolet for the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season.

And to prove his point even further, Hamlin tucked in behind teammate and current championship leader Tony Stewart in the final stages of Sunday's 334-lap race to finish seventh, his third top ten effort in just five starts.

It truly has been a remarkable rise to the top for Hamlin, who was named as the full-time driver of Gibbs' #20 Busch Series team at the start of the 2005 season, after making one start for the team at the tail end of the 2004 season.

And while the 24 year-old Virginian has yet to find victory lane in any of NASCAR's top three series yet, the fact that Sunday's race in Texas was just his 44th start in Truck, Busch or Cup competition, Gibbs obviously sees a win in the very near future.

"This is a great opportunity," said Hamlin, who only a year ago was racing Late Model stock cars in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series. "I've taken to the Cup cars really quick. From the moment I had my first test in a Cup car I was comfortable, and when it came time to race, the comfort level stayed with me.

"It's only been four races, but I feel like I have a really good rapport with the team. It's nice to know I'll be able to finish the season with them so that we'll have even more time to work toward next year."

A glimpse of Hamlin's quick ascension to Nextel Cup was seen last November when he made his first career Busch Series start at Darlington Raceway. In that race, Hamlin started 23rd and finished eighth. Considering Darlington's heritage as a true driver's track because of its tricky confines, the performance was indicative of Hamlin's potential.

"Denny made a big impact on our guys at JGR from the first time we saw him race Late Models in Virginia," said Team President J.D. Gibbs, alluding to the 45 wins Hamlin collected between 2002 and 2004 at local short tracks throughout the Southeast. "After he helped prepare our race cars for our Late Model diversity team and we saw his talent and passion, we knew we had to take a chance on Denny. It was one of the best decisions we've made, and we know he'll do a fantastic job representing the 200,000 FedEx associates in our #11 Chevrolet."

Jimmy Makar, a veteran crew chief who now serves as JGR's senior vice-president of racing, concurs.

"Denny is ready for Nextel Cup. Each step he's taken to get to this point, he's excelled. Last year we put him in a few Craftsman Truck Series races and he always seemed to qualify and finish in or near the top-10. In his Busch debut, it was more of the same. He's run very well this year in his first full season of Busch, and if it weren't for some bad luck here and there, he'd probably have a win or two. We'd be holding Denny back if we didn't give him this opportunity."

Hamlin will run for Rookie of the Year honours in 2006, as his Nextel Cup rookie status will be preserved this year by running only seven races. Hamlin will continue to drive the #20 car in the Busch Series full-time in 2006, getting as much seat time as possible at Nextel Cup venues where the Busch Series runs companion races. For the handful of race weekends where the Nextel Cup Series and the Busch Series race at different venues, Hamlin will follow a schedule similar to the one used this year by Carl Edwards, who is campaigning a full Nextel Cup and Busch Series schedule for Roush Racing.