Pennsylvania 500 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

· Raybestos® Rookie Greg Biffle was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Biffle finished 10th, his third top-10 finish of the season. He has now been Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in eight races this season, more than any other first year driver. Biffle holds an 11-point lead over Jamie McMurray (207-196) entering Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

· Biffle was the top rookie finisher in the June race at Pocono. He finished 20th in the Pocono 500.

· McMurray was the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the New England 300. He led once for 13 laps, 13.75 miles. McMurray has led more miles than any other Raybestos® Rookie entering Sunday's race at Pocono: eight times in three races for 97.25 miles (52 laps). The other rookies to lead this season: Greg Biffle (twice in two races for 54.50 miles, 22 laps) and Casey Mears (once in one race for 2.50 miles, one lap).

· Jimmie Johnson has the best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie at Pocono since 1998, a third place effort in the 2002 Pocono 500. He finished third and took top rookie honors for the third consecutive race. Johnson was the only first year driver to finish on the lead lap.

· DID YOU KNOW? In the past five seasons at Pocono, no Raybestos® Rookie has led at least one lap in BOTH the Pocono 500 and Pennsylvania 500.

· Tony Stewart is the only Raybestos® Rookie to score top-10 finishes in BOTH Pocono races dating back to June 1998. In 1999, Stewart finished sixth in the Pocono 500 and fourth in the Pennsylvania 500.

· In the 11 most recent Winston Cup races at Pocono, the most Raybestos® Rookies to finish on the lead lap in a race is three: 1998 Pocono 500 (Kenny Irwin, Kevin Lepage, and Jerry Nadeau) and the 2001 Pennsylvania 500 (Casey Atwood, Kevin Harvick, and Jason Leffler).

· Casey Mears is scheduled to run all three races this weekend at Pocono: the Winston Cup race on Sunday plus ARCA races Friday and Saturday.

· 2002 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year Ryan Newman was the top rookie finisher in last year's Pennsylvania 500. He started eighth and finished fifth, the only first year driver to finish inside the top-10. Jimmie Johnson finished 15th but was the only first-year driver to lead a lap in the race. He held the top spot once for two laps.

· 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             201
Jamie McMurray          190
Casey Mears             162
Jack Sprague            152 
Tony Raines             148
Larry Foyt               91
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
Tropicana 400                Jamie McMurray, eighth
New England 300              Greg Biffle, 20th 

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