GFS Marketplace 400 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

· Raybestos® Rookie Jamie McMurray was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Sirius At The Glen. McMurray finished 22nd and took top rookie honors for the ninth race this season. He trails Greg Biffle by four points (219-215) in Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

· McMurray has more top-fives (three) and top-10 finishes (five) than any other Raybestos® Rookie this season.

· Both McMurray and Biffle each led a lap at The Glen, the first time that more than one Raybestos® Rookie has led a Winston Cup race at the historic road course. Biffle led once for 23 laps while McMurray led once for one lap.

· McMurray has led more miles than any other Raybestos® Rookie entering the race at Watkins Glen: 11 times in five races for 154.70 miles (75 laps). The other rookies to lead this season: Biffle (three times in three races for 110.85 miles, 45 laps) and Casey Mears (twice in two races for 22.50 miles, nine laps).

· DID YOU KNOW? Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the pole as a Raybestos® Rookie for the 2000 GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan. Tony Stewart had the best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in the August race at Michigan since 1998. He placed third in the 1999 event.

· ONE YEAR AGO: Jimmie Johnson was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race at Michigan, logging a seventh place finish. Ryan Newman was the highest qualifying rookie, grabbing the ninth starting position but finished 31st. Newman was the only first-year driver to lead a lap in the race, holding the top spot once for 14 laps.

· McMurray was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the June race at Michigan, logging a 14th place finish. He was the only first-year driver to complete all 400 miles of the race.

· 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), Ryan 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).

· 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 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             219
Jamie McMurray          215
Casey Mears             177
Jack Sprague            169 
Tony Raines             158
Larry Foyt              111
Hideo Fukuyama           21
 
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 

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