The Winston - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

· Jamie McMurray is the only Raybestos® Rookie that has qualified for the 2003 The Winston. He gained entry into the all-star race when he won the 2002 UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. McMurray's win came in just his second career Winston Cup start.

· WOULD YOU BELIEVE? The 2003 season marks the fifth consecutive year a Raybestos® Rookie has gained entry in The Winston: Kenny Irwin (1999), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000), Kevin Harvick (2001), Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson (2002).

· Newman, winner of the 2002 The Winston, became the second Raybestos® Rookie in the 18 year history of the event to win the race. Newman won the No Bull Sprint to qualify for the main event then held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. to claim the big prize. Newman became the second Raybestos® Rookie in three seasons to win The Winston and took home a whopping $750,000.

· Jimmie Johnson also competed in the 2002 edition of The Winston, which was history making. Last year's race marked the first time in the history of The Winston where two Raybestos® Rookies qualified for The Winston. Johnson started 17th and finished fifth. He gained entry into the special event with his win at California Speedway, which came in his 13th career start.

· Earnhardt Jr. was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win The Winston. He won the 2000 edition of the race after starting fifth. Junior won his first Winston Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway in March of 2000 and backed it up with victories at Richmond International Raceway in May and in the all star race. He matched the modern-era record set by Davey Allison (two wins in the first 16 races) in 1987.

· In 1987, Davey Allison became the first Raybestos® Rookie to compete in The Winston. He gained entry into the event when he scored his first career win in the 1987 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Allison started third in The Winston and finished 12th driving a Robert Yates owned Ford. He was running at the finish of the event.

· Harvick gained entry into the 2001 The Winston with his win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March of that same year. He qualified an impressive third in his The Winston debut but finished 21st after leaving the event with mechanical problems.

· Jeff Burton started 18th and finished sixth in the 1994 edition of The Winston. Burton became the first Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-10 finish in the special event. Burton gained entry into the main event with a fourth place finish in the Winston Open, where he started third. He was behind the wheel of a Raybestos® sponsored Ford owned by Stavola Brothers Racing.

· Irwin started 10th and finished 13th at the 1999 The Winston. He was sidelined by an accident after completing 31 of the 70 laps. Irwin became the second Raybestos® Rookie to drive a Robert Yates owned car in the all-star race.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIES IN THE WINSTON

Year    Driver/finishing position
1987    Davey Allison, 12th 
1994    Jeff Burton, sixth
1999    Kenny Irwin, 13th
2000    Dale Earnhardt Jr., first
2001    Kevin Harvick, 21st 
2002    Jimmie Johnson, fifth
2003    Ryan Newman, first

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