Tropicana 400 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

· Raybestos® Rookie Greg Biffle won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Biffle's victory came in his 23rd career Winston Cup start and was his second top-five and second top-10 finish of the 2003 season. His previous best finish came this past March at the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway where he finished fifth. He took top finishing Raybestos® rookie honors for the seventh time this season, more than any other first-year driver. Biffle's win propelled him into the lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings. He holds a six-point advantage (186-180) over Jamie McMurray entering the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland 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), Ryan Newman (New Hampshire 2002), and Jimmie Johnson (Charlotte and both 2002 Dover races). The record for most wins by a Raybestos® Rookie is held by Stewart, who tallied three victories in 1999.

· 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).

· Biffle's win is the best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie at Daytona since Tony Stewart placed sixth in the 1999 Pepsi 400.

· Biffle was the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap Saturday night at Daytona. He held the top spot once for 21 laps. It was just the second time this season Biffle has led a race.

· Jamie McMurray has led more miles than any other Raybestos® Rookie. He has led six times in one race for 82.00 miles (41 laps). Biffle has led twice in two races for 54.50 miles (22 laps). Casey Mears has led once in one race for 2.50 miles (one lap).

· Biffle's win moved him up to 20th in Winston Cup points, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is the only driver in the top 20 to start 16 of the 17 races.

· DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has led the most laps in each of the two previous Winston Cup races at Chicagoland Speedway. Kevin Harvick led five times for 112 laps in 2001 while Ryan Newman led twice for 87 laps in 2002.

· Ryan Newman won the Bud Pole for last year's Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, one of six poles he would capture during the 2002 season.

· Jimmie Johnson rallied from his 37th-place starting position to finish fourth in the 2002 Tropicana 400. Johnson also led the race once for two laps.

· 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
Greg Biffle             186
Jamie McMurray          180
Casey Mears             156
Jack Sprague            150 
Tony Raines             135
Larry Foyt               85
Hideo Fukuyama           17
 
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 

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