MBNA Armed Forces Family 400 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

· Greg Biffle was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Biffle finished 16th and took top Raybestos® Rookie honors for the fifth time this season. He ranks 22nd in Winston Cup points, best of any Raybestos® Rookie Contender.

· Jamie McMurray leads the Raybestos® Rookie standings by four points (133-129) over Biffle entering Sunday's MBNA Armed Forces Family 400 at Dover International Speedway.

· Biffle qualified an impressive fifth for the MBNA All American Heroes 400 last September at Dover.

· McMurray has racked up more top-fives (two) and more top-10 finishes (3) than any other Raybestos® Rookie. McMurray has also led more miles (six times in one race for 41 laps, 82.00 miles) than any other freshman driver. Casey Mears is the only other first year driver to lead at least one lap this season (he led the Daytona 500 once for one lap, 2.50 miles).

· DID YOU KNOW? Raybestos® Rookie Tony Raines made his first career Winston Cup start at Dover in the 2002 MBNA Platinum 400. Raines started 17th in the race, which is his best career Winston Cup start.

· Four Raybestos® Rookies will make their first Dover Winston Cup start this weekend: McMurray, Casey Mears, Jack Sprague, and Larry Foyt.

· Raybestos® Rookie Jimmie Johnson scored his second win of the 2002 season when he captured the MBNA Platinum 400 at Dover. Johnson started 10th and led the race four times for 188 laps, more than any other driver. He officially scored the win by .478 second over Bill Elliott.

· Ryan Newman had a good day at Dover. He rallied from his 38th place starting position to finish fourth on the lead lap. The Dover race marked the first time in 2002 that two Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top-five.

· 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          133
Greg Biffle             129
Casey Mears             110
Jack Sprague            109 
Tony Raines             103
Larry Foyt               61
Hideo Fukuyama           11
 
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       

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