Race 2 Win: Sprint Cup Series Race Notes

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

No Raybestos® Rookie points will be awarded in either the NASCAR Sprint All-Star or Sprint Showdown races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000) and Ryan Newman (2002) are the only Raybestos® Rookies to win the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race.

Tony Stewart was the first Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-five finish in the Sprint All-Star race. He placed second behind race winner Terry Labonte in 1999.

Jeff Burton was the first Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-10 finish in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race. Burton finished sixth in 1994 driving the Raybestos®-sponsored Ford for Stavola Brothers Racing.

THREE Raybestos® Rookies have won the pole for the Sprint Showdown: Brett Bodine (1987), Jeff Gordon (1993), and Joe Nemechek (1994).

No Raybestos® Rookie is currently eligible for the 2008 Sprint All-Star race.

DID YOU KNOW? TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have competed in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race 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 Sprint All-Star race 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 Sprint All-Star race was Davey Allison in 1987. Allison started third and finished 12th, completing 134 of the 135 laps.

The best start by a Raybestos® Rookie in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race is second by Denny Hamlin in 2006.

At least one Raybestos® Rookie has qualified for nine of the 23 Sprint All-Star races.

Raybestos® Rookies in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race:
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

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a Sprint Cup Series race is Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya captured the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon (Sonoma, Calif.) Raceway, crossing the finish line 4.097 seconds ahead of second-place Kevin Harvick (31 races).

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Sprint Cup Series is Denny Hamlin. Hamlin captured the top starting spot for the 2006 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (57 races).

AN HISTORICAL FIRST: The 2008 season marked the first time in NASCAR’s modern-era (since 1972) that THREE drivers shared the lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings. After the second race of the season, Sam Hornish, Jr., Dario Franchitti and Regan Smith were all tied at the top of the standings.

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 Sprint 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 Sprint 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 Sprint 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 Sprint Cup title: Dale Earnhardt (1979), Rusty Wallace (1984), Alan Kulwicki (1986), Jeff Gordon (1993), Tony Stewart (1999, 2005) and Matt Kenseth (2000).

The longest streak for a Raybestos® Rookie to be in the top-10 in the Sprint Cup Series championship standings during the sport’s modern-era is 60 races (2001 MBNA Platinum 400 through 2002 Ford 400).