Race 2 Win: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

Nextel Cup Series

Allstate 400 at the Brickyard - 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 July 23 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Hamlin scored his second win of the 2006 season in the race, crossing the finish line 1.510 seconds ahead of second-place Kurt Busch. He grabbed top rookie honors for the 11th time in 20 races.

Hamlin led five times for 151 laps at Pocono to win the WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race award, the second time he has captured the honor. He is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in a race this season.

Hamlin enjoys a 48-point lead (223-175) over Clint Bowyer in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the August 6 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis (Ind.) Motor Speedway.

Hamlin is eighth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship standings, one point behind seventh-place Kasey Kahne. He leads ninth-place Jeff Gordon by two points and tenth-place Tony Stewart by 37.

WIX Filters is an associate sponsor for Joe Gibbs Racing. WIX Filters and Raybestos® brand brakes are members of the Affinia family of brands.

THE STREAK STAYS ALIVE: A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-15 in all 20 races this season.

DID YOU KNOW? FOUR Raybestos® Rookies led a lap in the July 1 Pepsi 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (race number 17), the most to lead a race this season:
Martin Truex Jr., once for three laps
David Stremme, twice for two laps
Reed Sorenson, once for one lap
J.J. Yeley, once for one lap.

DID YOU KNOW? The most Raybestos® Rookies to finish in the top-10 this season is THREE in the July 9 USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland (Joliet, Ill.) Speedway: Sorenson (seventh), Bowyer (ninth) and Yeley (10th).

Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, posting a 10th-place finish.

Truex Jr. is the only member of the 2006 Raybestos® Rookie class to compete at Indianapolis. Truex Jr. started 17th and finished 42nd in the 2005 race, departing the event early due to an accident.

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-10 in each of the past SEVEN consecutive races at Indianapolis.

Jamie McMurray’s third-place finish in 2003 is the best by a Raybestos® Rookie in 12 previous Brickyard 400 races. McMurray is also the most recent first-year driver to lead a lap in the race.

The best starting position by a Raybestos® Rookie at Indianapolis is third by Casey Atwood in 2001.

DID YOU KNOW? Only once in 12 previous races at Indianapolis have TWO or more Raybestos® Rookie qualified inside the top-10. In 1997, Mike Skinner started sixth while David Green claimed the ninth-place starting position.

Johnny Benson holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie at Indianapolis and is also the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in the race. Benson led three times for 70 laps to earn WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors in the 1996 event.

Raybestos® Rookies that have led a lap in the Brickyard 400 at Indy:
1996: Benson (three times for 70 laps)
1997: 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: McMurray (twice for 22 laps)

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Indy:
2001: Kurt Busch, fifth
2002: Ryan Newman, fourth
2003: McMurray, third
2004: Kasey Kahne, fourth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Indy:
1996: Benson, eighth
1997: Skinner, ninth
1999: Tony Stewart, seventh
2000: Scott Pruett, 10th
2001: Kurt Busch, fifth
2002: Newman, fourth
2002: Jimmie Johnson, ninth
2003: McMurray, third
2004: Kahne, fourth
2005: Kyle Busch, 10th

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 11 years (1996-2006).

Ryan Newman holds the all-time Raybestos® Rookie record for most poles (6), most top-fives (14) and most top-10s (22).

Kasey Kahne holds the record for most earnings by a Raybestos® Rookie ($5.4 million in 2004).

The record for most wins by a Raybestos® Rookie is three, shared by Stewart (1999) and Jimmie Johnson (2002).

Johnson also holds the best ever points finish by a Raybestos® Rookie, placing fifth in the championship standings in 2002.

A Raybestos® Rookie has posted multiple victories SIX times in NASCAR Winston Cup history: Davey Allison (two wins in 1987), Stewart (three wins in 1999), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two wins in 2000), Kevin Harvick (two wins in 2001), Johnson (three wins in 2002), and Kyle Busch (two wins in 2005).

More than one Raybestos® Rookie has posted victories in their rookie season only three times: Morgan Shepherd and Ron Bouchard (one each in 1981), Earnhardt Jr. (two) and Kenseth (2000), Johnson (three) and Newman (2002).

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Denny Hamlin 223
Clint Bowyer 175
Reed Sorenson 168
Martin Truex Jr. 156
J.J. Yeley 153 
David Stremme 128
Brent Sherman 41 

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
Daytona 500 Bowyer, sixth
Auto Club 500 Yeley, eighth
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Hamlin, 10th 
Golden Corral 500 Sorenson, 10th 
Food City 500 Hamlin, 14th 
DIRECTV 500 Sorenson, 12th 
Samsung/RadioShack 500 Hamlin, fourth
Subway Fresh 500 Bowyer, fifth
Aaron’s 499 Yeley, 11th 
Crown Royal 400 Hamlin, second
Dodge Charger 500 Hamlin, 10th 
Coca-Cola 600 Hamlin, ninth
Neighborhood Excellence 400 Hamlin, 11th 
Pocono 500 Hamlin, FIRST
3M Performance 400 Sorenson, fifth
Dodge/Save Mart 350 Hamlin, 12th 
Pepsi 400 Bowyer, 10th 
USG Sheetrock 400 Sorenson, seventh
Lenox Industrial Tools 300 Hamlin, sixth
Pennsylvania 500 Hamlin, FIRST