Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS - NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES

· Jamie McMurray was the top Raybestos® Rookie in the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway. McMurray finished eighth, his 12th top-10 finish of the season. He took top Raybestos® Rookie honors for the 18th time this season and for the ninth consecutive race. McMurray has been the top rookie in 11 of the past 12 Winston Cup races entering the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

· HOT STREAK: The Martinsville race marked the eighth consecutive event where McMurray added to his lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings. He holds a 33-point advantage (275-242) over Greg Biffle entering the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500.

· A STREAK IN DANGER: A Raybestos® Rookie has won at least one pole position in each of the past seven consecutive seasons, dating back to 1996. Newman, who won six in 2002, holds the record for most poles in a rookie season. No Raybestos® Rookie has won a pole position this season.

· DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-10 in each of the past three fall races at Atlanta: Ryan Newman, 10th (2002), Kevin Harvick, third (2001), and Matt Kenseth, ninth (2000). Each of the three drivers also won Raybestos® Rookie of the Year.

· Newman was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race last year at Atlanta. He finished 10th and was the only freshman driver to finish inside the top-10. Newman led the race once for one lap and was the only first-year driver to lead a lap in race.

· McMurray is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap since the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 September 6 at Richmond International Raceway (four races ago). He led three times for a total of 20 laps in the EA Sports 500 at Talladega and led once for one lap at the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Charlotte.

· TWO Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top 10 in two races this season: the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (McMurray finished fourth and Biffle placed tenth) and the MBNA America 400 at Dover International Speedway (McMurray finished sixth and Biffle placed seventh).

· With Biffle's win in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, a Raybestos® Rookie has now won at least one race in each of the last five seasons dating back to Tony Stewart's win at Richmond International Raceway in September, 1999. Other freshman drivers to win: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Richmond, 2000), Matt Kenseth (Charlotte, 2000), Kevin Harvick (Atlanta, 2001), Newman (New Hampshire 2002), and Jimmie Johnson (California and both 2002 Dover races). The record for most wins by a Raybestos® Rookie is three, shared by Johnson (2002) and Stewart (1999).

· The way to the Winston Cup championship is to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. Since 1979, five Raybestos® Rookie of the Year drivers have won the title: Dale Earnhardt (1979), Rusty Wallace (1984), Alan Kulwicki (1986), Jeff Gordon (1993), and Stewart (1999).

· A Raybestos® Rookie has posted multiple victories five times in NASCAR Winston Cup history: Davey Allison (two wins in 1987), Stewart (three wins in 1999), Earnhardt Jr. (two wins in 2000), Harvick (two wins in 2001), and Johnson (three wins in 2002).

   
RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER               POINTS
Jamie McMurray          275
Greg Biffle             242
Casey Mears             192
Tony Raines             189 
Jack Sprague            158
Larry Foyt              134

HIGHEST FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIES BY RACE

EVENT                        HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE
Daytona 500                  Jack Sprague, 14th 
Subway 400                   Jamie McMurray, fifth
UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400     Casey Mears, 15th 
Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500      Greg Biffle, 13th 
Carolina Dodge Dealers 400   Greg Biffle, 12th 
Food City 500                Greg Biffle, fifth
Samsung/RadioShack 500       Jamie McMurray, 10th 
Aaron's 499                  Tony Raines, 16th 
Virginia 500                 Greg Biffle, 18th 
Auto Club 500                Jamie McMurray, fifth
Pontiac Excitement 400       Tony Raines, 14th 
Coca-Cola 600                Greg Biffle, 16th 
MBNA Armed Forces Family 400 Jamie McMurray, 13th 
Pocono 500                   Greg Biffle, 20th 
Sirius 400                   Jamie McMurray, 14th 
Dodge/Save Mart 350          Jamie McMurray, 20th            
Pepsi 400                    Greg Biffle, first
Tropicana 400                Jamie McMurray, eighth
New England 300              Greg Biffle, 20th 
Pennsylvania 500             Tony Raines, 16th 
Brickyard 400                Jamie McMurray, third
Sirius @ The Glen            Jamie McMurray, 22nd 
GFS Marketplace 400          Greg Biffle, fourth
Sharpie 500                  Jamie McMurray, third
Mountain Dew Southern 500    Jamie McMurray, fourth
Chevy Rock and Roll 400      Jamie McMurray, 19th 
Sylvania 300                 Jamie McMurray, 10th 
MBNA America 400             Jamie McMurray, sixth
EA Sports 500                Jamie McMurray, 16th 
Banquet 400                  Jamie McMurray, eighth
UAW-GM Quality 500           Jamie McMurray, seventh
Subway 500                   Jamie McMurray, eighth   

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