NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS – NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES
No Raybestos® Rookie points will be awarded in the May 20 NEXTEL Open or NEXTEL All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (Concord, N.C.).
Raybestos® Rookie Martin Truex Jr. competed in the 2005 NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. Truex Jr. gained entry into the event as the fan vote recipient. He was involved in an accident and was credited with a 22nd-place finish.
DID YOU KNOW? Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000) and Ryan Newman (2002) are the only Raybestos® Rookies to win the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge.
DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has qualified for seven of the last eight NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge races.
No Raybestos® Rookie is currently eligible for the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge.
A Raybestos® Rookie has qualified for seven of the last eight NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge races.
TWO ore more Raybestos® Rookies have competed in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge just twice: Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers in 2004 and Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson in 2002.
DID YOU KNOW? Only once in the history of the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge have TWO Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top five. In 2002, Ryan Newman won the race while Jimmie Johnson finished fifth.
DID YOU KNOW? The first Raybestos® Rookie to compete in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge was Davey Allison in 1987. Allison started third and finished 12th, completing 134 of the 135 laps.
Jeff Burton was the first Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-10 finish in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. Burton finished sixth in 1994 driving the Raybestos®-sponsored Ford for Stavola Brothers Racing.
Tony Stewart was the first Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-five finish in the NASCAR All-Star Challenge. He placed second behind race winner Terry Labonte.
The best start by a Raybestos® Rookie in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge is third, by Davey Allison (1987) and Kevin Harvick (2001).
At least one Raybestos® Rookie has qualified for nine of the 21 NEXTEL All-Star races.
No Raybestos® Rookie has won in 20 previous NEXTEL Open races. In 2002, Ryan Newman transferred into the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge by winning the No Bull Sprint.
THREE Raybestos® Rookies have won the pole for the NEXTEL Open: Brett Bodine (1987), Jeff Gordon (1993), and Joe Nemechek (1994).
Raybestos® Rookies in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge
1987: Davey Allison, 12th
1994: Jeff Burton, sixth
1998: Kenny Irwin, Jr., 13th
1999: Tony Stewart, second
2000: Dale Earnhardt Jr., first
2001: Kevin Harvick, 21st
2002: Ryan Newman, first
2002: Jimmie Johnson, fifth
2003: Jamie McMurray, 22nd
2004: Kasey Kahne, seventh
2004: Brian Vickers, 12th
