Race 2 Win: Food City 500 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Winston Cup Series

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Food City 500 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Greg Biffle was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway. Biffle finished 12th, his best finish in 14 career Winston Cup starts. His previous best effort was 13th at California Speedway in the 2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500. Biffle was also the top qualifying rookie at Darlington, taking the 17th starting position in time trials.

For the second consecutive week, Biffle made it a clean sweep, taking top qualifying and top finishing Raybestos® Rookie honors.

DID YOU KNOW? Casey Mears is the only Raybestos® Rookie that has started all five races this season and has not posted a DNF.

Jamie McMurray leads the Raybestos® Rookie standings by four points (51-47) over Mears entering the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Biffle climbs to third in rookie points, eight behind McMurray and four behind Mears. McMurray has led the points since the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway.

Biffle is the first driver this season to claim Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors in more than one event. He was also the top freshman driver in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Four different drivers have taken home Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors in the five Winston Cup races this season: Biffle (Atlanta and Darlington), Jack Sprague (Daytona), McMurray (Rockingham), and Mears (Las Vegas).

Only two Raybestos® Rookies (McMurray and Mears) have started all five 2003 Winston Cup races without using a provisional. Jack Sprague and Tony Raines are the other two first-year drivers that have qualified for every race entering the Food City 500.

Entering Sunday's race at Bristol, Mears is the only Raybestos® Rookie that has led a lap this season. He led once for one lap (2.5-miles) in the Daytona 500.

All six Raybestos® Rookies that entered the Darlington race qualified for the event. Five of the six were running at the finish of the race: Biffle, McMurray (22nd), Foyt (32nd), Mears (34th) and Sprague (40th). Raines was the only driver that did not finish the race. He completed 60 laps before parking his car due to damage sustained in an accident early in the race and was credited with a 41st place finish.

The Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway is the only race this season where all six Raybestos® Rookies qualified for the same Winston Cup race and all six were running at the finish of the race.

Jimmie Johnson was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2002 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He started 33rd and finished seventh, completing all 500 laps of the event.

2002 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year Ryan Newman was the highest qualifying rookie at Bristol, taking the eighth starting position in time trials. Newman finished 37th but was running at the finish of the event.

Neither Johnson nor Newman led a lap last March at Bristol. In fact, no Raybestos® Rookie led a lap at Bristol during the entire 2002 season. The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap at Bristol is Kevin Harvick, who led three times for 136 laps in the 2001 Food City 500. Harvick led the most laps of any driver in that race.

Newman and Johnson became the third pair of Raybestos® Rookies to win in their rookie season. They joined Morgan Shepherd (Martinsville) and Ron Bouchard (Talladega) in 1981 and Matt Kenseth (Charlotte) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Texas and Richmond) in 2000.

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

A Raybestos® Rookie Contender has won at least one race in each of the last four seasons dating back to Tony Stewart's win at Richmond in September, 1999. Other freshman drivers to win: Earnhardt Jr. (Richmond, 2000), Matt Kenseth (Charlotte, 2000), Harvick (Atlanta, 2001), Newman (New Hampshire 2002), and Johnson (Charlotte and both 2002 Dover races). The record for most wins by a Raybestos® Rookie is held by Stewart, who won three races in 1999.

A Raybestos® Rookie has won at least one pole position in each of the past seven consecutive seasons, dating back to 1996. The record for most poles in a rookie season is held by Ryan Newman, who won six in 2002.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER              POINTS
Jamie McMurray          51
Casey Mears             47
Greg Biffle             43
Jack Sprague            42 
Tony Raines             38
Larry Foyt              29
Hideo Fukuyama           7
 
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

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