Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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

· Jamie McMurray was the top Raybestos® Rookie in the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. McMurray finished 12th and took top Raybestos® Rookie honors for the 20th time this season and for the 11th consecutive race. McMurray has been the top Raybestos® Rookie in 13 of the past 14 Winston Cup races entering the Pop Secret 400 at North Carolina Speedway.

· DID YOU KNOW? Since 1992, only two Raybestos® Rookies have scored top-10 finishes in the fall race at Rockingham: Ward Burton (ninth in 1994) and Ricky Craven (eighth in 1995).

· Four Raybestos® Rookies finished on the lead lap at Phoenix, the most first-year drivers that have completed the full distance in a Winston Cup race since the August 23 Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

· McMurray holds a 33-point advantage (277-244) over Greg Biffle in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the race at Rockingham.

· 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. No Raybestos® Rookie has won a pole position this season.

· 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     277
Greg Biffle        244
Casey Mears        196
Tony Raines        191 
Jack Sprague       158
Larry Foyt         137
  
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
Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500       Jamie McMurray, 15th 
Checker Auto Parts 500        Jamie McMurray, 12th  

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