Race 2 Win: Auto Club 500 Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Auto Club 500 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

David Ragan was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the February 18 Daytona 500 at Dayton (Fla.) International Speedway. Ragan finished fifth, his best effort in three NEXTEL Cup Series starts. His best previous finish was 25th last fall at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

Ragan earned a $5,000 bonus from Affinia Group as part of the Raybestos® Rookie Magnificent Seven program. The Raybestos® Rookie of the Race normally pays $1,500 but that increases to $5,000 for the Daytona 500 and races at Las Vegas (March 11), Martinsville, Va. (April 1), Darlington, S.C. (May 12), Sonoma, Calif. (June 24), Joliet, Ill., (July 15) and Bristol, Tenn. (August 25).

Ragan holds a seven-point lead (17-10) over Juan Pablo Montoya in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the Feb. 25 Auto Club 500 at California Speedway.

THE STREAK: A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top 15 in 37 consecutive NEXTEL Cup races.

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a NEXTEL Cup Series race is Denny Hamlin, who captured the 2006 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono (P.A.) Raceway.

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole is Denny Hamlin, who captured the top starting spot for the 2006 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono.

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent race where multiple Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top five occurred at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway on Nov. 19, 2006. Martin Truex Jr. finished second ahead of third-place Denny Hamlin.

J.J. Yeley was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, grabbing an eighth-place finish.

Kyle Busch won the pole for the 2005 Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. He became the youngest pole winner in NASCAR’s premier series (19 yrs., 9 mos. and 24 days). Busch captured 2005 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year honors.

Jimmie Johnson is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, captured the 2002 event by .620 seconds over Kurt Busch. The only other first-year driver to score a top-five finish in the Auto Club 500 is Tony Stewart, who placed fourth in 1999.

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has led at least one lap in each of the last THREE consecutive Auto Club 500 races.

Kahne holds the record for number of laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Auto Club 500. Kahne led five times for 77 laps in the 2004 race. The most Raybestos® Rookies to lead at least one lap in the Auto Club 500 is THREE in 2004: Kahne, Brendan Gaughan (once for one lap), and Brian Vickers (once for one lap).

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the Auto Club 500:
1999: Tony Stewart, fourth
2002: Jimmie Johnson, first

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the Auto Club 500:
1997: Jeff Green, seventh
1999: Tony Stewart, fourth
2002: Jimmie Johnson, first
2004: Brendan Gaughan, sixth
2006: J.J. Yeley, eighth

Raybestos® Rookies that have led at least one lap in the Auto Club 500:
1999: Tony Stewart (once for one lap)
2001: Kevin Harvick (twice for two laps)
2002: Ryan Newman (once for three laps)
2002: Jimmie Johnson (four times for 62 laps)
2004: Kasey Kahne (five times for 77 laps)
2004: Brendan Gaughan (once for one lap)
2004: Brian Vickers (once for one lap)
2005: Kyle Busch (once for three laps)
2006: J.J. Yeley (once for two laps)

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

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

Denny Hamlin is the only Raybestos® Rookie to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup since the program was created in 2004.

Hamlin holds the record for most earnings by a Raybestos® Rookie ($6.6 million in 2006).

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

A Raybestos® Rookie has posted multiple victories SEVEN times in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup:
1987: Davey Allison, two
1999: Tony Stewart, three
2000: Dale Earnhardt Jr., two
2001: Kevin Harvick, two
2002: Jimmie Johnson, three
2005: Kyle Busch, two
2006: Denny Hamlin, two

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

The way to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup 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 Matt Kenseth (2000).

At least one Raybestos® Rookie has won a Bud Pole in each of the last 11 years (1996-2006).

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
David Ragan 17
Juan Paul Montoya 10
David Reutimann 9
Paul Menard 1 
AJ Allmendinger 1 
Brandon Whitt 1

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
Daytona 500 Ragan, fifth