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Raybestos Rookie News and Notes: Coca-Cola 600

Monday May 19, 2008

 

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS ROOKIE CONTENDERS – NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

· Michael McDowell was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the May 10 Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. McDowell scored a 28th-place finish and captured top rookie honors for the first time this season.

Patrick Carpentier led the race at Darlington twice for four laps and was the only rookie driver to lead a lap in the event. Carpentier became the first driver to lead at Darlington since Kasey Kahne in 2004.

· Smith leads the Raybestos® Rookie standings by two points (107-105) over Sam Hornish Jr. entering the May 25 Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (Concord, N.C.).

Juan Pablo Montoya was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2007 Coca-Cola 600, scoring a 28th-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? Two or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top-10 in the Coca-Cola 600 just four times since 1975:
1981: Morgan Shepherd (sixth) and Elliott Forbes-Robinson (tenth)
1993: Jeff Gordon (second) and Bobby Labonte (eighth)
2000: Matt Kenseth (first) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (fourth)
2006: Denny Hamlin (ninth) and Reed Sorenson (10th)

DID YOU KNOW? Matt Kenseth is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the Coca-Cola 600. Kenseth captured the 2000 race by .573-seconds over Bobby Labonte.

DID YOU KNOW? Jimmie Johnson is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the pole in 48 previous Coca-Cola 600 races. Johnson took the top starting spot for the 2002 race.

DID YOU KNOW? TWO Raybestos® Rookies have led the most laps in the Coca-Cola 600:
2000: Dale Earnhardt Jr., 175 laps
2002: Jimmie Johnson, 263 laps

DID YOU KNOW? At least one Raybestos® Rookie has led at least one lap in eight of the past nine Coca-Cola 600 races:
1999: Tony Stewart (three times for 13 laps) 2000: Matt Kenseth (twice for 31 laps) 2000: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (five times for 124 laps) 2001: Kevin Harvick (once for one lap) 2002: Jimmie Johnson (five times for 250 laps) 2003: Greg Biffle (once for one lap) 2004: Kasey Kahne (once for five laps) 2005: Kyle Busch (twice for 55 laps) 2005: Travis Kvapil (twice for 23 laps) 2006: Denny Hamlin (three times for 25 laps)

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the Coca-Cola 600 (since 1975):
1993: Jeff Gordon, second
1999: Tony Stewart, fourth
2000: Matt Kenseth, FIRST; Dale Earnhardt Jr., fourth
2001: Kevin Harvick, second

Raybestos® Rookies who have scored top-10 finishes in the Coca-Cola 600 (since 1975):
1977: Sam Sommers, ninth
1980: Kyle Petty, seventh
1981: Morgan Shepherd, sixth; Elliott Forbes-Robinson, 10th
1993: Jeff Gordon, second and Bobby Labonte, eighth
1995: Ricky Craven, tenth
1999: Tony Stewart, fourth
2000: Matt Kenseth, FIRST; Dale Earnhardt Jr., fourth
2001: Kevin Harvick, second 2002: Jimmie Johnson, seventh

RAYBESTOS ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER POINTS
Regan Smith 107
Sam Hornish, Jr. 105
Patrick Carpentier 73
Dario Franchitti 72
Michael McDowell 56
Jacques Villeneuve 1

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS ROOKIE BY RACE

EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
Daytona 500 Hornish Jr., 15th
Auto Club 500 Smith, 31st
UAW-Dodge 400 Franchitti, 31st
Kobalt Tools 500 Hornish Jr., 25th
Food City 500 Smith, 26th
Goody’s Cool Orange 500 Smith, 14th
Samsung 500 Carpentier, 28th
Subway Fresh Fit 500 Hornish Jr., 20th
Aaron’s 499 Smith, 21st
Crown Royal 400 Smith, 21st
Dodge Challenger 500 McDowell, 28th

RAYBESTOS ROOKIE HISTORY

· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a Sprint Cup Series race is Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya captured the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon (Sonoma, Calif.) Raceway, crossing the finish line 4.097 seconds ahead of second-place Kevin Harvick (31 races).

· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Sprint Cup Series is Denny Hamlin. Hamlin captured the top starting spot for the 2006 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (57 races).

· AN HISTORICAL FIRST: The 2008 season marked the first time in NASCAR’s modern-era (since 1972) that THREE drivers shared the lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings. After the second race of the season, Sam Hornish, Jr., Dario Franchitti and Regan Smith were all tied at the top of the standings.

Ryan Newman holds the all-time Raybestos® Rookie record for most poles (6), most top-fives (14) and most top-10s (22).

Denny Hamlin is the only Raybestos® Rookie to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup since the program was created in 2004.

Hamlin holds the record for most earnings by a Raybestos® Rookie ($6.6 million in 2006).

The record for most wins by a Raybestos® Rookie is three, shared by Tony Stewart (1999) and Jimmie Johnson (2002).

A Raybestos® Rookie has posted multiple victories SEVEN times in NASCAR Sprint Cup:
1987: Davey Allison, two
1999: Tony Stewart, three
2000: Dale Earnhardt Jr., two
2001: Kevin Harvick, two
2002: Jimmie Johnson, three
2005: Kyle Busch, two
2006: Denny Hamlin, two

More than one Raybestos® Rookie has posted victories in their rookie season only three times: Morgan Shepherd and Ron Bouchard (one each in 1981), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two) and Matt Kenseth (2000), Jimmie Johnson (three) and Ryan Newman (2002).

The way to the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship is to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. Since 1979, six Raybestos® Rookie of the Year drivers have gone on to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup title: Dale Earnhardt (1979), Rusty Wallace (1984), Alan Kulwicki (1986), Jeff Gordon (1993), Tony Stewart (1999, 2005) and Matt Kenseth (2000).

The longest streak for a Raybestos® Rookie to be in the top-10 in the Sprint Cup Series championship standings during the sport’s modern-era is 60 races (2001 MBNA Platinum 400 through 2002 Ford 400).

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

 

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