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Raybestos Rookie News and Notes: Northern Tool.com 250
Tuesday June 16, 2009
NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS – NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Brendan Gaughan was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the June 13 Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Gaughan scored a fourth-place finish, his second top-five of the season and led the race twice for six laps. He claimed top rookie honors for the fourth time in 2009.
Justin Allgaier posted a fifth-place finish at Kentucky, his third top-five and seventh top-10 this season and led the race three times for five laps. He also claimed fifth-place finishes this season at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (race No. 4) and Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (race No. 10). Allgaier is sixth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie.
Michael Annett claimed a seventh-place finish in the Meijer 300, his first top-10 in 15 Nationwide Series races.
THE STREAK STAYS ALIVE! At least one Raybestos® Rookie has scored top-10 finishes in the last 12 consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
Gaughan and leads Allgaier by one point (149-148) in the overall Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the June 20 Northern Tool.com 250 at The Milwaukee (West Allis, Wisc.) Mile.
TWO Raybestos® Rookies are in the top-10 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings: Allgaier (sixth) and Gaughan (seventh).
Cale Gale was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2008 Northern Tool.com 250, scoring a 12th-place finish.
DID YOU KNOW? Only one Raybestos® Rookie has won in 18 previous races at Milwaukee: Greg Biffle in 2001. Biffle won by a whopping 13.302 seconds over second-place Matt Kenseth. He led the race twice for a total of 19 laps.
DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in eight of the last 10 NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Milwaukee.
Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at The Milwaukee Mile:
1993: Hermie Sadler, third
1994: Johnny Benson, third
1997: Steve Park, fifth
2001: Greg Biffle, FIRST
2003: David Stremme, third
2007: Brad Coleman, fourth
Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at The Milwaukee Mile:
1993: Hermie Sadler, third
1994: Johnny Benson, third
1994: Dennis Setzer, ninth
1995: Curtis Markham, seventh
1997: Steve Park, fifth
1999: Tony Roper, 10th
2000: Jimmie Johnson, ninth
2000: Ron Hornaday, 10th
2001: Greg Biffle, FIRST
2002: Shane Hmiel, sixth
2003: David Stremme, third
2005: Denny Hamlin, sixth
2006: Danny O’Quinn Jr., seventh
2007: Brad Coleman, fourth
DID YOU KNOW? TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished inside the top-10 just once in 18 races at Milwaukee. Jimmie Johnson (ninth) and Ron Hornaday (10th) accomplished the feat in 2000.
RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Brendan Gaughan 149
Justin Allgaier 148
Michael McDowell 132
Scott Lagasse Jr. 124
Michael Annett 107
John Wes Townley 75
Erik Darnell 48
Ken Butler 40
Peyton Sellers 29
Marc Davis 24
Terry Cook 13
HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
Camping World 300 Michael McDowell, 14th
Stater Bros. 300 Brendan Gaughan, ninth
Sam’s Town 300 Michael McDowell, sixth
Food City 500 Justin Allgaier, fifth
O’Reilly 300 Justin Allgaier, 10th
Nashville 300 Scott Lagasse Jr., 10th
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Brendan Gaughan, seventh
Aaron’s 312 Scott Lagasse Jr., eighth
Lipton Tea 250 Michael McDowell, eighth
Diamond Hill Plywood Erik Darnell, fourth
CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 Brendan Gaughan, second
Heluva Good! 200 Justin Allgaier, 10th
Federated Auto Parts 300 Michael McDowell, eighth
Meijer 300 Brendan Gaughan, fourth
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 (81 races).
· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Nationwide Series is Brendan Gaughan. Gaughan captured the top starting spot for the 2009 Scotts Turf Builder 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (11 races).
· Landon Cassill won the 2008 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Cassill finished the season with one pole and five top-10 finishes in 19 starts. He grabbed the top starting spot for the Camping World RV Sales 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (race No. 18). His best finishes were sixth-place efforts at Gateway (Madison, Ill.) International Raceway and Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.
· 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 OF THE LAST FOUR 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.
Do you want the chance to win a free Frontstretch T-Shirt, and are you really good at talking about NASCAR? Well, we have the perfect opportunity for you. Our staff will be giving away a free T-Shirt to the reader who makes the best post in our Frontstretch Forum between now and the end of the season. So, what makes a good post? It’s pretty hard to impress us, but here are some things we are looking for:
Does your post spark passionate reactions from other readers? Are you commenting on meaningful NASCAR-related events? Do your posts have substance? In other words, “Dale Jr. is the best driver ever” or “Danica Patrick is hot” will not cut it.
So go to the Frontstretch Forums, post early, post often, and post well! We’ll announce the winner following the final race of the season at Homestead.
This report was provided by an outside PR source and posted by Kim DeHaven.
©2000 - 2008 Kim DeHaven and Frontstetch.com. Thanks for visiting the Frontstretch!
