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21 January 2009 Wilton, Ca Before the 2009 season begins for Laura Hayes, a quick recap of the 2008 season must be made.
In October, Laura was invited to the 2008 Drive for Diversity Testing and Evaluation Combine presented by Sunoco. Twenty-five drivers from across the United States were chosen from hundreds of applicants to participate in the two day event held in South Boston, Va., all hoping to be a part of the 09 D4D driver line up. One day of the Combine consisted of media and sponsor relations activities and training. The other day took place at the famous South Boston Speedway, where drivers made laps in Camping World cars, while being mentored by a member of one of NASCARs most historic racing families, Wendell Scott, Jr. His support and feedback was absolutely invaluable to each of the drivers.
Laura commented, "The Combine was such a great learning experience for me. It was an honor to be one of a select few to participate and I hope my performance was good enough to catch the eye of a team owner. I just have to thank everyone at NASCAR, Sunoco and Drive for Diversity for giving me this opportunity to progress my racing career."
Hayes did have a very good performance for her first laps in a Camping World car and she felt she made a favorable impression on team owners and officials.
In November, All American Speedway concluded their season with the end of the year banquet. Laura finished a respectable 6th in the final points standings with 12 top fives, 18 top tens and a feature win in 21 main event starts. She also made the trophy dash seven times with a pole, 3 second places and a win. These finishes were good enough to place her 15th in the California State Whelen Series points and 96th in the country. Throughout the course of the season, Laura's performance on the track improved every race and she was always in contention for the win. The final award of the evening was for the Late Model Rookie of the Year, presented to the driver who showed not only improvement, but who also earned the respect of officials and competitors, both on and off the track, as well as for the best record of all the first year drivers. When the recipient for this award was announced, Laura and her family were surprised to hear her name called to the podium to accept the 2008 Rookie of the Year award.
"I was definitely shocked when I heard my name called; it is a huge honor to be named Rookie of the Year, considering the talented crop of rookies at All American Speedway. I wouldn't have received this award if it wasn't for the hard work, support and dedication of my parents, my Uncle Dennis and my sponsors, Rob Miller of Peoplefinders.com, K&N Air Filters, everyone at Golden State Racing and everyone else who helped me this year."
Check Laura's website again soon to hear about her 2009 race season plans!
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