Race 2 Win: Nationwide Series Race Notes

Nationwide Series

Sharpie Mini 300 - Raybestos Rookies Notes

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

Cale Gale was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the March 8 Nicorette 300 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. Gale finished 20th and took top rookie honors for the first time this season.

Dario Franchitti holds a 13-point lead (47-34) over Bryan Clauson in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the March 15 Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

Franchitti is 14th in the Nationwide Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie.

David Ragan was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2007 Sharpie Mini 300, scoring a 13th-place finish on the lead lap.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in 19 previous spring races at Bristol is second by David Green in 1991.

DID YOU KNOW? The most Raybestos® Rookies to finish inside the top-10 in the Sharpie Mini 300 are THREE in 2005: Reed Sorenson (third), Carl Edwards (seventh) and Denny Hamlin (ninth).

DID YOU KNOW? Scott Riggs is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole at Bristol Motor Speedway. Riggs won his first career pole in the 2002 Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol in just his fifth career start.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the Sharpie Mini 300:
1989: Kenny Wallace, fifth
1991: David Green, second
2004: Kyle Busch, third
2005: Reed Sorenson, third

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the Sharpie Mini 300:
1989: Kenny Wallace, fifth
1990: Joe Nemechek, ninth
1991: David Green, second
1991: Tracy Leslie, eighth
1993: Hermie Sadler, sixth
1995: Curtis Markham, ninth
1997: Steve Park, eighth
1998: Wayne Grubb, seventh
1999: Tony Roper, 10th
2002: Scott Riggs, ninth
2002: Shane Hmiel, 10th
2004: Kyle Busch, third
2005: Reed Sorenson, third
2005: Carl Edwards, seventh
2005: Denny Hamlin, ninth
2006: John Andretti, ninth

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Dario Franchitti 47
Bryan Clauson 34
Brian Keselowski 28
Cale Gale 20

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

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 Telcel MOTOROLA Mexico 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Mexico City, Mexico), crossing the finish line .750 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin (36 races).

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Nationwide Series is David Ragan. Ragan captured the top starting spot for the 2007 Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway (four 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. The others: 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 Biffle), most top fives (tied with 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. He was the only Raybestos® Rookie to score 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 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.