Race 2 Win: Nationwide Series Race Notes

Nationwide Series

Pepsi 300 - Raybestos Rookies Notes

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

Dario Franchitti was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the March 15 Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Franchitti scored a 22nd-place finish and claimed top rookie honors for the third time in five Nationwide Series races this season.

Franchitti holds a 15-point lead (58-43) over Bryan Clauson in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the March 22 Pepsi 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

DID YOU KNOW? Franchitti has been running at the finish of all five Nationwide Series races this season, completing 834 of 841 possible laps this season.

DID YOU KNOW? This is the THIRD consecutive week that Franchitti has led the Raybestos Rookie standings in BOTH the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series.

Franchitti is 15th in the Nationwide Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie.

Brad Coleman was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2007 Pepsi 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, scoring a 15th-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? In 13 previous Nationwide Series races at Nashville, THREE Raybestos® Rookies have won a pole position, two coming in the spring race:
2002: Shane Hmiel (Pepsi 300)
2005: Reed Sorenson (Pepsi 300)
2006: Todd Kluever (Federated Auto Parts 300)

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has won THREE Nationwide Series races at Nashville Superspeedway, all coming in the Pepsi 300 (spring race):
2001: Greg Biffle
2002: Scott Riggs
2005: Reed Sorenson

DID YOU KNOW? Reed Sorenson holds the record for largest margin of victory in 13 previous Nationwide Series race at Nashville. Sorenson captured the 2005 spring race by 14.417 seconds over Kenny Wallace.

DID YOU KNOW? Sorenson holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in a Nationwide Series race at Nashville. Sorenson led the 2005 event three times for 197 laps.

Only TWICE in 13 previous Nationwide Series races at Nashville have TWO Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top-five: 2001 Pepsi 300: Greg Biffle (FIRST) and Scott Wimmer (third). 2005 Pepsi 300: Reed Sorenson (FIRST) and Carl Edwards, (fourth)

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Nashville:
2001 Pepsi 300: Greg Biffle (FIRST), Scott Wimmer (third).
2002 Pepsi 300: Scott Riggs (FIRST).
2003 Federated 300: David Stremme (third).
2004 Pepsi 300: Clint Bowyer (fourth)
2004 Federated 300: Clint Bowyer (third)
2005 Pepsi 300: Reed Sorenson (FIRST) and Carl Edwards (fourth)
2005 Federated 300: Reed Sorenson (third)

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Nashville:
2001 Pepsi 300: Greg Biffle (FIRST), Scott Riggs (third).
2002 Pepsi 300: Scott Riggs (FIRST), Kerry Earnhardt (eighth).
2002 Federated 300: Shane Hmiel (ninth), Casey Mears (10th).
2003 Pepsi 300: David Stremme (seventh), Chad Blount (eighth).
2003 Federated 300: David Stremme (third).
2004 Pepsi 300: Clint Bowyer (fourth) and Kyle Busch (sixth)
2004 Federated 300: Clint Bowyer (third) and J.J. Yeley (eighth)
2005 Pepsi 300: Reed Sorenson (FIRST), Carl Edwards (fourth) and Denny Hamlin (ninth)
2005 Federated 300: Reed Sorenson (third), Denny Hamlin (seventh) and Paul Wolfe (10th).
2006 Pepsi 300: Burney Lamar (seventh)
2006 Federated 300: Danny O’Quinn Jr. (10th)
2007 Federated 300: David Ragan, seventh

DID YOU KNOW? THREE Raybestos® Rookies have led the most laps in 13 previous Nationwide Series races at Nashville, all coming in the spring race:
2001: Greg Biffle (five times for 133 laps)
2004: Clint Bowyer (four times for 103 laps)
2005: Reed Sorenson (three times for 197 laps)

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Dario Franchitti 58
Bryan Clauson 43 
Brian Keselowski 38
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 
Sharp Mini 300 Franchitti, 22nd

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 (37 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 (five 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.