Sirius at The Glen - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

· Raybestos® Rookie Jamie McMurray was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. McMurray finished third and scored the best finish by a rookie in the history of the Brickyard 400. He also led the race twice for a total of 22 laps and became the first Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the Brickyard 400 since Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick in 2001. He was the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the race. McMurray took top rookie honors for the eighth time this season.

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

· McMurray's good run at Indy sliced into Greg Biffle's lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings. McMurray cut Biffle's lead from 12 to just three points (217-214) entering the Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen.

· Biffle was the highest qualifying Raybestos® Rookie at the Brickyard 400, taking the 18th starting position. Randy Goss, Biffle's crew chief, earned a $5,000 bonus from Raybestos® for being the crew chief of the top qualifying rookie at Indy.

· McMurray has led more miles than any other Raybestos® Rookie entering the race at Watkins Glen: 10 times in four races for 152.25 miles (74 laps). The other rookies to lead this season: Greg Biffle (twice in two races for 54.50 miles, 22 laps) and Casey Mears (twice in two races for 22.50 miles, nine laps).

· DID YOU KNOW? Only two Raybestos® Rookies have led a lap in a Winston Cup race since 1986 at Watkins Glen International: Ryan Newman in 2002 and Ted Musgrave in 1991. Newman led twice for 10 laps while Musgrave led once for one lap.

· Newman was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2002 Sirius Satellite Radio at Watkins Glen. Newman finished second, 1.636 seconds behind race winner Tony Stewart and was the only first-year driver to place inside the top-10.

· 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             217
Jamie McMurray          214
Casey Mears             173
Jack Sprague            165 
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

©Copyright 2003 Race 2 Win