Race 2 Win: Golden Corral 500 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Nextel Cup Series

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Golden Corral 500 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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

Denny Hamlin was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the March 13 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hamlin finished 10th, taking top rookie honors for the first time this season. A different driver has claimed the honor in each of the first three races.

Hamlin scored his best finish of the 2006 season. He racked up the fourth top-10 finish of his 10-race NEXTEL Cup Series career.

A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top 10 in all three NEXTEL Cup Series races this season.

A Raybestos® Rookie has now finished inside the top-10 in each of the past three consecutive Las Vegas races and in six of the past seven.

Clint Bowyer holds a seven-point advantage over Hamlin and J.J. Yeley (35-28) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the March 19 Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.

Bowyer is the only Raybestos® Rookie that ranks in the top 10 in the NEXTEL Cup Series championship standings. He is currently seventh entering the Atlanta event, 14 behind sixth-place Kyle Busch and 151 behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta. Busch finished 12th, completing all 325 laps of the race.

Kevin Harvick scored a memorable win as a Raybestos® Rookie in the 2001 Golden Corral 500. He beat Jeff Gordon by just .006 seconds to capture his first NEXTEL Cup Series victory in just his third career start.

Raybestos® Rookies Robby Gordon (1997) and Johnny Benson (1996) scored their first career Bud Poles in back-to-back spring race at Atlanta. Gordon won the pole in his 11th career start. Benson took the top spot in just his fourth career start.

DID YOU KNOW? Gordon is the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win the pole for the spring race at Atlanta.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the Golden Corral 500 (since 1975):
1987: Davey Allison, fifth
1989: Dick Trickle, third
1994: Jeff Burton, fourth
1998: Kenny Irwin, fifth
2001: Kevin Harvick, first
2002: Jimmie Johnson, third
2004: Kasey Kahne, third

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the Golden Corral 500 is Ryan Newman, who led 15 circuits in the 2002 race.

DID YOU KNOW? The late Kenny Irwin holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in the spring race at Atlanta. In 1998, Irwin led five times for 112 laps.

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookie in the Golden Corral 500 (since 1975):
1978: Connie Saylor, eighth
1979: Joe Millikan, eighth
1980: Jody Ridley, sixth
1980: Slick Johnson, 10th
1981: Morgan Shepherd, eighth
1982: Jim Sauter, 10th
1987: Davey Allison, fifth
1989: Dick Trickle, third
1989: Hut Stricklin, eighth
1994: Jeff Burton, fourth
1998: Kenny Irwin, fifth
2001: Kevin Harvick, first
2002: Jimmie Johnson, third
2002: Ryan Newman, 10th
2004: Kasey Kahne, third

TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top 10 in the spring race at Atlanta Motor Speedway three times (since 1975).

From 1978 until 1982, at least one Raybestos® Rookie finished in the top-10 in the Golden Corral 500, a streak of five consecutive races: Connie Saylor (eighth in 1978), Joe Millikan (eighth in 1979), Jody Ridley (sixth) and Slick Johnson (sixth and 10th, respectably, in 1980), Morgan Shepherd (eighth in 1981), and Jim Sauter (10th in 1982).

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, 2005) and Kenseth (2000).

At least one Raybestos® Rookie has won a Bud Pole in each of the last 10 years (1996-2005). There has been a first-time Bud Pole winner in each of the last 19 years (1987-2005).

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Clint Bowyer 35
J.J. Yeley 28
Denny Hamlin 28
Martin Truex, Jr. 26
David Stremme 21
Brent Sherman 20
Reed Sorenson 19 

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE
Daytona 500 Clint Bowyer, sixth
Auto Club 500 J.J. Yeley, eighth
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Denny Hamlin, 10th

News and Results | Point Standings | 2006 Schedule | 2006 Teams | 2005 Schedule and Results