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Raybestos Rookie News and Notes: Ford 300

Tuesday November 11, 2008

 

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS – NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

· Landon Cassill was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the November 8 Hefty Odor Block 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Cassill scored a sixth-place finish, his fifth top-10 in 19 races this season and claimed top rookie honors for the SEVENTH time in 2008. He became the first Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-10 in the fall race at Phoenix since 2005.

· CLOSE BATTLE! Cassill lead Bryan Clauson by six points (185-179) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the November 15 Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.

Marcos Ambrose was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2007 Ford 300, grabbing a 10th-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Ford 300 is third by Kyle Busch (2004) and Greg Biffle (2001).

DID YOU KNOW? Casey Atwood (1998) and David Ragan (2007) are the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole at Homestead.

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-10 in the last FOUR CONSECUTIVE Nationwide Series races at Homestead.

DID YOU KNOW? Only once in 13 previous Nationwide Series races at Homestead have TWO Raybestos® Rookie finished in the top-five. In 2001, Greg Biffle place third just ahead of fellow Raybestos® Rookie Scott Wimmer, who grabbed a fourth place finish.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Homestead:
1999: Hank Parker Jr., fourth
2001: Greg Biffle, third 2001: Scott Wimmer, fourth 2004: Kyle Busch, third

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Homestead:
1995: Jeff Fuller, eighth
1995: Curtis Markham, 10th
1997: Matt Kenseth, sixth 1998: Dave Blaney, sixth 1999: Hank Parker Jr., fourth
2000: Jimmie Johnson, sixth 2001: Greg Biffle, third 2001: Scott Wimmer, fourth 2004: Kyle Busch, third 2005: Jon Wood, sixth 2006: Todd Kluever, ninth 2007: Marcos Ambrose, 10th

Raybestos® Rookies to lead a lap at Homestead:
1997: Steve Park (once for nine laps)
1999: Hank Parker, Jr. (led 32 laps) 2001: Scott Wimmer (once for 11 laps) 2004: Kyle Busch (once for three laps) 2007: Brad Keselowski (once for 18 laps)
2007: David Ragan (once for two laps)

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER POINTS
Landon Cassill 185
Bryan Clauson 179
Dario Franchitti 159
Cale Gale 148
Brian Keselowski 101

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE

EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
Camping World 300 Clauson, sixth
Stater Bros. 300 Franchitti, 24th
Sam’s Town 300 Franchitti, sixth
Nicorette 300 Gale, 20th
Sharp Mini 300 Franchitti, 22nd
Pepsi 300 Gale, eighth
O’Reilly 300 Franchitti, 11th
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Franchitti, 11th
Corona Mexico 200 Carpentier, fifth
Aaron’s 312 Carpentier, eighth
Lipton Tea 250 Clauson, 21st
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Miller, eighth
CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 Gale, 30th
Heluva Good! 200 Franchitti, 15th
Federated Auto Parts 300 Cassill, ninth
Meijer 300 Clauson, fifth
Camping World RV Rental 200 Gale, 12th
Camping World RV Sales 200 Franchitti, 13th
Winn-Dixie 250 Clauson, 19th
Dollar General 300 Cassill, 10th
Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Cassill, sixth
Kroger 200 Gale, sixth
NAPA Auto Parts 200 Cassill, 14th
Zippo 200 Franchitti, fifth
CARFAX 250 Franchitti, 13th
Food City 250 Gale, fourth
Camping World RV Service 300 Clauson, 18th
Emerson Radio 250 Cassill, 12th
Camping World RV Sales 200 Cassill, 25th
Kansas Lottery 300 Clauson, 21st
Dollar General 300 Clauson, 30th
Kroger 250 Gale, 11th
O’Reilly Challenge None Awarded
Hefty Odor Block 200 Cassill, sixth

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a Nationwide Series race is Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya captured the 2007 Corona Mexico 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Mexico City, Mexico), crossing the finish line .750 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin (66 races).

· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Nationwide Series is Cale Gale. Gale captured the top starting spot for the 2008 Food City 250 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (nine races).

· David Ragan captured 2007 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Ragan edged Marcos Ambrose by 27 points (272-245) for the honor. Ragan finished the season with two poles, four top-five and nine top-10 finishes. His best finish of the season was a third-place effort in the Sam’s Town 250 at Memphis (Millington, Tenn.) Motorsports Park (race no. 32). Ragan was fifth in the Nationwide Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie.

· The most recent streak for at least two Raybestos® Rookies to rank inside the top-10 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings is 21 consecutive races (2007 race at Kentucky Speedway, race No. 16, through 2008 Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, race No. 1).

· Roush Fenway Racing has won THREE consecutive Raybestos® Rookie of the Year titles in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and FOUR since 2001.
2007: David Ragan
2006: Danny O’Quinn Jr.
2005: Carl Edwards
2001: Greg Biffle

Danny O’Quinn Jr. narrowly edged John Andretti to win the 2006 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. O’Quinn Jr. finished one point higher than Andretti in the final standings, the closet margin in NASCAR national series history. He also became the second driver in series history to win the award without completing the full schedule.

Kyle Busch posted a record-setting year on his way to the 2004 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title. In 34 starts, Busch won five times, captured five poles and scored 16 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes. His second-place finish in the Nationwide Series championship standings is a record for a Raybestos® Rookie. Other Raybestos® Rookie records Busch owns or shares: most starts (34), most wins (tied with Greg Biffle), most top fives (tied with Greg Biffle), most top 10s, most money won ($2,027,050), most championship points (4,943), most laps led (1,108) and most races led (21).

David Stremme holds the record for fewest starts by a driver to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. In 2003, he started just 18 of the 34 races and was the top rookie finisher in 16 of those starts. Stremme scored three top-three finishes and had more top-10 finishes (seven) than any other first-year driver. He led six races for a total of 86 laps.

David Green was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a Nationwide Series race, at Lanier, Ga., in 1991. Green captured the Nestle 200 by 1.58-seconds over Jeff Gordon, a fellow Raybestos® Rookie. A third Raybestos® Rookie, Todd Bodine, placed eighth in the race.

Dennis Setzer was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win TWO or more races in a season. In 1994, he won the Ford Credit 300 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and The Pantry 300 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Steve Park was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win THREE or more races in a season. In 1997, he won the BellSouth Mobility/Opryland 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Speedway, the Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan International Speedway and the Autolite Platinum 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

Kenny Wallace was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole in the Nationwide Series. Wallace grabbed the top starting spot for the 1989 Goody’s 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the first race in the history of the Raybestos® Rookie of the Year program.

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This report was provided by an outside PR source and posted by Kim DeHaven.

 

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