Race 2 Win: DHL 400 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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DHL 400 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Brendan Gaughan was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race at the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, a track very similar to Michigan International Speedway site of this weekend's DHL 400. Gaughan started fifth and finished sixth at California Speedway.

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, #77 KODAK EASY SHARE DODGE: ARE YOU PLANNING TO RUN THE SAME DODGE THAT YOU RAN AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY BACK IN MAY? "The Penske Jasper team is shooting to have that car back. It's been a good car for us. In the truck series we had a 20-second lead there last year. I remember growing up watching Indy cars there. It was an awesome race in Indy cars; it's an awesome race in anything with it being 16 grooves wide [laughs]. That's a fun place to race. I followed Robert Pressley there last year for about 40 laps. He was bottom, I was top and we made a deal: We started sixth and seventh and went right to first and second. I said that I would not try to poke my nose there and he could run without worrying. My spotter went to his spotter and for 40 laps man we were down to the bottom and up to the top and merged and never tried to poke a nose. We passed everybody. We split 'em, one on the bottom and one on the top and drove all the way to the front. My pit stop was great and we went to the lead and never looked back. If I can do that again we'll take it."

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MICHIGAN SPEEDWAY AND CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY? THEY LOOK IDENICAL. "California is more and more like Michigan. When California opened, it was one groove then maybe it was two grooves. The last couple of years we've been able to run all the way at the top of turn one, all the way at the top of turn four, so now it is becoming more similar. But for some reason, and I don't know if it's the banking or the degree of the corners, but Michigan is just a little bit different animal. It's a little bit bumpier, and it might be faster but it just has a little bit different feel to it the way that you merge up and down. It almost feels like there is more banking."

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

Brian Vickers was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway. Vickers finished 13th and took top rookies honors for the third time this season.

Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers made history at Pocono during qualifying for the Pocono 500. Kahne won the pole for the race, his fourth in 14 career NEXTEL Cup Series starts while Vickers joined him on the outside of the front row. The Pocono 500 is the first time in NASCAR's modern era that two rookies have claimed front row starting positions for a superspeedway race.

Both Kasey Kahne (once for 36 laps) and Brian Vickers (once for seven laps) led at Pocono, the SIXTH race this season where two or more Raybestos® Rookies have led at least one lap. The other races: Las Vegas (Kahne and Vickers), Texas (Kahne and Sauter), Talladega (Wimmer and Vickers), and California (Kahne, Gaughan, and Vickers) and Dover (Kahne and Vickers). The Pocono 500 is the second consecutive race where both Kahne and Vickers each led at least one lap.

Kasey Kahne remains the leader in the chase for Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. He has a 40-point lead over Wimmer (176-136) entering the DHL 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

DID YOU KNOW? The only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole for the June race at Michigan is Loy Allen. Allen grabbed the top starting position for 1994 race.

DID YOU KNOW? Only THREE Raybestos® Rookies have scored a top-five finish in the June race at Michigan since1975:
1979: Joe Millikan, fourth
1993: Jeff Gordon, second
2002: Ryan Newman, third

Kahne enters the race at Michigan 13th in the NEXTEL Cup championship standings, 19 behind 12th place Jamie McMurray and 21 behind 11th place Jeremy Mayfield. He is the only Raybestos® Rookie in the top 20 in the championship standings.

The MBNA 400 "A Salute to Heroes" is the only race this season where two or more Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top-10. Scott Riggs placed fifth and Scott Wimmer claimed a ninth place finish.

Kahne has led more miles and laps than any other Raybestos® Rookie. Entering the Michigan race, Kahne has led 23 times in eight races for a total of 527.31 miles (338 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), Scott Wimmer (twice in two races for seven laps, 17.82 miles), Johnny Sauter (twice in two races for two laps, 2.03 miles), Brendan Gaughan (once in one race for one lap, 2.0 miles), and Scott Riggs (once in one race for one lap, 1.50 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.

MICHIGAN RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE TIDBITS

Jamie McMurray was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2003 DHL 400 at Michigan International Speedway. McMurray finished 14th and was the only first-year driver to complete all 400 miles.

The most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in the June race at Michigan is 25 by Jimmie Johnson in 2002. Only once since 1975 have TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies led a lap in the spring race at MIS: 2002 (Johnson and Ryan Newman, who led twice for 10 laps). Other Raybestos® Rookies to lead at least one lap in the June race at Michigan:
1975: Ritchie Panch (once for four laps)
1979: Dale Earnhardt (once for one lap)
1982: Mark Martin (once for one lap)
1986: Alan Kulwicki (once for one lap)
1993: Jeff Gordon (once for one lap)
2003: Greg Biffle (once for one lap)

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the June race at Michigan (since 1975):
1975: Ritchie Panch, sixth
1977: Sam Sommers, eighth
1979: Joe Millikan, fourth
1979: Dale Earnhardt, sixth
1980: Jody Ridley, sixth
1980: Kyle Petty, seventh
1981: Ron Bouchard, 10th
1982: Geoffrey Bodine, ninth
1993: Jeff Gordon, second
1994: Joe Nemechek, seventh
1999: Tony Stewart, ninth
2000: Kevin Harvick, 10th
2002: Ryan Newman, 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 won the 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 176
Scott Wimmer 136
Brian Vickers 134
Brendan Gaughan 128
Scott Riggs 121
Johnny Sauter 117

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

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