Liddell and Henzler have not finished outside the GT class top six in the first six races this season and captured the first Rolex Series victory for Tafel Racing in the Road & Track 250 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca earlier this month. Winning both the MESCO Building for the Future Rookie of the Year Award and the Rolex Series GT championship is not out of the question for these two drivers, as they trail GT series points leaders Andy Lally and Marc Bunting by just eight points in the GT driver standings with more than half of the season remaining.

Close behind Henzler and Liddell are No. 5 Make A Wish/Z-Line Designs/Finlay Motorsports Ford Crawford drivers Rob Finlay and Michael Valiante with 230 points. The duo has six top-10 finishes in its first seven Daytona Prototype races and is looking for its first overall victory in the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International on June 3.

No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Porsche Crawford driver Mike Rockenfeller is one point behind the No. 5 teammates with 229 points to hold down fifth place in the rookie standings. Rockenfeller and co-driver Patrick Long have two Rolex Series overall victories in 2006, winning the Linder Industrial Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami in March and the VIR 400 at Virginia International raceway in April.

No. 12 Lowe's Fernandez Racing Pontiac Riley co-drivers Adrian Fernandez and Mario Haberfeld are sixth with 202 points, followed by No. 74 Rembrandt Charms Porsche GT3 driver Eric Lux with 187 points. No. 89 Playboy/Vonage/Palms Casino Pontiac Riley driver Alex Figge is ninth with 185 points, and No. 04 Sigalsport/Motul/GRW.com.mx/enVista/OMP BMW M3 driver Peter MacLeod rounds out the top 10 with 151 points.

Although the Daytona Prototype and GT classes don't fight for overall wins on the track, rookies in both classes are competing for the same honor and $10,000 prize. Points will be awarded in the same manner as they are for the driver, team and manufacturer championships in each class, but points for GT drivers will be earned based on their finishing position in class rather than where they finish overall. As there are 13 GT races and 14 Daytona Prototype events on the 2006 Rolex Series schedule, Daytona Prototype rookies will stop earning points following the penultimate round of the 2006 season at Infineon Raceway.

Eligible drivers must not have competed in more than four Rolex Series races in a single season since 2003 and prior to 2006. The annual winner will be determined by finishing position in the final championship standings, and the MESCO Building for the Future Rookie of the Year will be honored at the season-ending Rolex Series awards banquet.

MESCO Building Solutions is a division of NCI Building Systems, Inc., one of North America's largest integrated manufacturers of metal products for the nonresidential building industry. The company operates manufacturing and distribution facilities located in 17 states, Mexico and Canada.

The Grand American Road Racing Association, which operates and sanctions the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve and the Grand-Am Cup Series, is the premier road racing organization in North America. The 15-race 2006 Rolex Series schedule and the 10-race Grand-Am Cup calendar deliver professional sports car racing to key markets throughout North America in addition to being televised in the United States and Canada on SPEED and distributed globally through ESPN International. With title sponsorship support from Rolex Watch USA and presenting sponsorship from Crown Royal Special Reserve, the Rolex Series showcases emerging and legendary drivers from around the globe and thoroughbred racing machines from the industry's leading constructors and the world's top automobile manufacturers. Learn more about Grand American at www.grandamerican.com.

 Written by: Grand American Communications
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