· Kasey Kahne was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. Kahne finished third, his sixth top-five and seventh top-10 of the 2004 season. He scored his first top-five finish in two Pocono races and took top Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the ninth time this season.
· Kahne enters the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway 57-point lead (238-181) over Brian Vickers in the chase for Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. He is 12th in the NEXTEL Cup Series championship standings, 69 points behind 10th place Kevin Harvick.
· DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-five in each of the last three consecutive Brickyard 400 races: Kurt Busch (fifth in 2001), Ryan Newman (fourth in 2002), and Jamie McMurray (third in 2003). No other Raybestos® Rookie driver has scored a top-five finish at Indianapolis. Busch was the first Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-five finish at the historic 2.5-mile speedway.
· Jeff Gordon (five), Kasey Kahne (four), and Ryan Newman (four) are the only multiple Bud Pole winners this season.
· Entering the race at Indianapolis, Kahne has racked up four second place finishes this season. The last time a Raybestos® Rookie scored more than four second place finishes in his first season was in 2002 when Ryan Newman had five second place finishes. James Hylton, who captured Raybestos® Rookie of the Year honors in 1966, is the only other first-year driver to score four second place finishes.
· Two or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top-10 in two races this season.
MBNA 400: Scott Riggs (fifth) and Scott Wimmer (ninth)
DHL 400: Kasey Kahne (second) and Brian Vickers (ninth)
· Two or more Raybestos® Rookies have led a lap in the same race SIX times this season entering the Tropicana 400. The races: Pocono (Kahne and Vickers), Las Vegas (Kahne and Vickers), Texas (Kahne and Sauter), Talladega (Wimmer and Vickers), and California (Kahne, Gaughan, and Vickers), and Dover (Kahne and Vickers).
· Kahne has led more miles and laps than any other Raybestos® Rookie. Entering the race at Indianapolis, Kahne has led 26 times in 10 races for a total of 544.81 miles (349 laps). Other freshman drivers to lead at least one lap this season: Brian Vickers (five times in five races for 43 laps, 40.82 miles), Brendan Gaughan (twice in two races for 14 laps, 28.00 miles), Scott Wimmer (twice in two races for seven laps, 17.82 miles), Scott Riggs (twice in two races for two laps, 3.50 miles), and Johnny Sauter (twice in two races for two laps, 2.03 miles).
· Kahne is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in a NEXTEL Cup Series race this season. He led the Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway six times for 148 laps.
BRICKYARD 400 RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE TIDBITS
· Jamie McMurray was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2003 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. McMurray finished third, the best finish ever by a first-year driver in 10 NEXTEL Cup races at Indy. He also led the race twice for 22 laps.
· Johnny Benson holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Brickyard 400. He is also the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in the Brickyard 400. Benson led three times for 70 laps in the 1996 event.
· Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Indy:
1996: Johnny Benson, eighth
1997: Mike Skinner, ninth
1999: Tony Stewart, seventh
2000: Scott Pruett, 10th
2001: Kurt Busch, fifth
2002: Ryan Newman, fourth
2002: Jimmie Johnson, ninth
2003: Jamie McMurray, third
· Raybestos® Rookies that have led a lap in the Brickyard 400 at Indy:
1996: Johnny Benson (three times for 70 laps)
1997: Mike Skinner, (once for eight laps)
2000: Stacy Compton (once for one lap)
2001: Kurt Busch (once for one lap)
2001: Kevin Harvick (once for 18 laps)
2003: Jamie McMurray, third
RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY
· The way to the NASCAR NEXTEL championship is to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. Since 1979, six Raybestos® Rookie of the Year drivers have gone on to win a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup title: Dale Earnhardt (1979), Rusty Wallace (1984), Alan Kulwicki (1986), Jeff Gordon (1993), Tony Stewart (1999), and Matt Kenseth (2000).
· A Raybestos® Rookie has 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), Jimmie Johnson (California and both 2002 Dover races) and Greg Biffle (Pepsi 400 at Daytona 2003). The record for most wins by a Raybestos® Rookie is three, shared by Johnson (2002) and Stewart (1999).
RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Kasey Kahne 238
Brian Vickers 181
Scott Wimmer 180
Brendan Gaughan 166
Scott Riggs 159
Johnny Sauter 123
HIGHEST FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIES BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE
Daytona 500 Scott Wimmer, third
Subway 400 Kasey Kahne, second
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Kasey Kahne, second
Golden Corral 500 Kasey Kahne, third
Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 Kasey Kahne, 13th
Food City 500 Scott Wimmer, 13th
Samsung/RadioShack 500 Kasey Kahne, second
Advance Auto Parts 500 Brian Vickers, 13th
Aaron's 499 Brendan Gaughan, 13th
Auto Club 500 Brendan Gaughan, sixth
Chevy American Revolution 400 Brian Vickers, eighth
Coca-Cola 600 Kasey Kahne, 12th
MBNA 400 "A Salute to Heroes" Scott Riggs, fifth
Pocono 500 Brian Vickers, 13th
DHL 400 Kasey Kahne, second
Dodge/Save Mart 350 Brian Vickers, 22nd
Pepsi 400 Brian Vickers, ninth
Tropicana 400 Brian Vickers, 14th
Siemens 300 Kasey Kahne, eighth
Pennsylvania 500 Kasey Kahne, third
ADVANCE MATERIAL FROM RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS BRIAN VICKERS, KASEY KAHNE, AND BRENDAN GAUGHAN FOR THE AUGUST 8 BRICKYARD 400 NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES RACE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.
BRIAN VICKERS, #25 GMAC CHEVROLET: YOU HAD A REALLY GOOD TEST AT INDY. "I thought the test went really well. The GMAC Chevy crew did a really good job and we're obviously looking forward to going back. I enjoy the track personally and it's a lot of fun and it's Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There's a lot to that place and a lot of history there." WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO GET OUT ON THAT TRACK FOR THE FIRST TIME? "It was a pretty neat experience. I almost missed turn one, just kind of taking in the energy of the place and the scene, the grandstands going down both sides and all that." HAVE YOU BEEN TO INDY AS A SPECTATOR? "I've been to Indy as a fan before and attended some races up there and been to some tests, actually, with my father." WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THE TRACK? IS THERE ANY TRACK THAT YOU CAN COMPARE TO INDY? "You might compare the tunnel turn at Pocono to that place, but really it's different. It's different than any place that we go to and that's one thing that I like about it. It's very unique, a lot of fun, it's very fast. It may be a one-groove racetrack but it's still a pretty neat place." WERE YOU ABLE TO MAKE ANY RACE RUNS AT THE TEST? "We made mostly race runs, more than qualifying runs. We didn't really get to go out there and race anybody but we made a lot of race runs." WHERE CAN YOU MAKE A PASS? "I think just getting off of turn two and turn four and getting under them, just getting a good run off those turns and getting under somebody is going to be your best bet." WERE YOU SURPRISED HOW WELL YOU RAN? "Yes and no. We were surprised our first time going to Indy but at the same time the team has been getting better all year. We've been testing well and running well, with the exception of New Hampshire. Looking at that it's not a big surprise."
KASEY KAHNE, #9 DODGE DEALERS/UAW DODGE. INDY MUST BE A VERY SPECIAL EVENT FOR YOU. "That's probably the biggest race of the year. Daytona was big but we were just getting started there. I'm looking forward to it. It's a great racetrack. It's a track that I've always went to and watched and watched on TV. It would just be an awesome track to run good at." HOW SPECIAL WERE YOUR FIRST LAPS ON THE TRACK? "It was really cool. I was pretty happy when I came in the first time. I rode around there for six or seven laps and just got to feel the track out. It's just a different place. It's a pretty neat place and it's really fun to be able to do that." HOW DIFFICULT IS THE TRACK? "It's real difficult, four different corners. You can lose a lot of speed off any one of the corners. It's a tough track. It's a track that we've got to really work on getting the car balanced and make it really balanced. There's going to be some spots where you're going to have to have the car a certain way that you're not going to like but it will work really good in other spots and that's just part of that track." CAN YOU COMPARE WHAT THE CAR HAS TO DO AT INDY TO ANY OTHER TRACK? "I didn't really see any comparisons. The long straightaways I guess you could compare to Pocono and that's about it. To me it didn't seem like any one of those corners was like any other corner that I'd ever been on." WILL IT BE DIFFICULT TO PASS THERE? "I think it will be kind of tough to pass at times. If you've got a better car, you should be able to get by somebody but it definitely won't be easy to pass. It's not going to be a real easy track to pass but if you have a better car you will be able to pass." DO YOU PLAN TO RUN THE BUSCH RACE AT RACEWAY PARK SATURDAY NIGHT? "No, just focusing on the Brickyard."
BRENDAN GAUGHAN, #77 KODAK/JASPER ENGINES AND TRANSMISSIONS DODGE (Note: Gaughan's Dodge will carry primary sponsorship from Jasper Engines and Transmissions at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Jasper is a longtime NASCAR sponsor and is based in nearby Jasper, Indiana): "We've got ourselves pretty busy with Jasper's home track and Jasper is going to be the primary sponsor. The nice thing is that's our first brand new Penske chassis and ironically enough, it's chassis number 77. Just by accident it happened that way. We tested there and had Rusty at the test. He actually jumped in the Jasper Dodge and got us up to speed. It's so nice to have teammates that can do that and Rusty is a big help. The test went well and we're very happy about that, but it's still Indy. It's definitely the biggest, the meanest; it's definitely a tough place but I'm looking forward to it. I like places like that normally and well see how we do as a Raybestos Rookie there." HOW WAS IT WHEN YOU PULLED ON TO THE TRACK FOR THE FIRST TIME? "I was lucky. I went there two or three years ago and I taught for the Richard Petty Driving Experience, one of the first deals that they ever did there, so I got rid of some of that awe. The first time that I was giving a ride I got a passenger, a 50-year old man from Indiana that had watched the speedway his whole life. I'll never forget it. The first time ever he's on the track and we come out of turn four and I've done maybe one lap on the track and I've got this guy in the car and there's three of us all doing a Richard Petty ride. Even my eyes are big and I look over and this guy's jaw is just to his chest, eyes are as big as dinner plates. When we finished I said 'Man, that front straightaway is cool and way you come out of turn three.' And he goes 'What do you mean?' And I told him that was my first time, too and the guy almost had a heart attack. You come out of turn four there and you look at the front straightaway and it's the narrowest front straightaway that you've ever seen. Grandstands all the way up one side and grandstands up the other side and it becomes a tunnel. It's a fun place." WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO HAVE A GOOD RUN THERE? "I grew up watching Indy cars. Daytona is what they are in NASCAR but in America, Indianapolis is Indianapolis. Mr. Penske is so famous there and it's Jasper's home track. Going back thinking about all the great drivers that Mr. Penske has had there and all the wins. It would mean a lot to go to Indianapolis and get a victory there. There is no bigger place probably in the world. Le Mans and all these places that are famous racetracks, Indianapolis ranks right up there with them." IS THE TRACK TEMPERATURE SENSITIVE? "It's not like Charlotte where is becomes so wacky, but it's very temperature sensitive. Shane [Wilson, crew chief] and all the engineers seem to think it's also very linear with the sensitivity where at this temperature it's this. If your car is like this then it's going to be very linear with it. At Charlotte, you never know what it's going to do. You think it's going to tighten up when it gets cold but some days you get really loose. At Indianapolis, you could schedule out what your car would do. It's very mechanical." WHEN YOU STARTED RACING, WAS INDY WHERE YOU WANTED TO RACE? "Before I got into NASCAR I was working on going open wheel racing. I was talking to Robby Gordon and he was giving me the route to try to get to Indianapolis. Parnelli Jones used to come and go to schools with me and help me out a lot. He was trying to help get me there. I remember watching the Penske teams: Al Jr., Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan, and I remember looking at that and going 'That's what I want to do.' Fortunately for me, when I got out of college, Walker was in that Craftsman Truck Series and we went to NASCAR and I'm a lot happier that I'm here in NASCAR now." DID YOU GO TO INDY AS A FAN? "I actually went to the inaugural Brickyard 400. I went there as a guest of some friends of my Dad's. I sat up in one of the boxes. That was my first taste of live Indy and it was cool."
