Race 2 Win: Sprint Cup Series Race Notes

Sprint Cup Series

Auto Club 500 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Sam Hornish, Jr. was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the February 17 Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Hornish Jr. scored a 15th-place finish, his best effort in three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts.

Hornish Jr. leads Dario Franchitti by one point (11-10) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the February 24 Auto Club 500 at California Speedway

Three organizations - Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Michael Waltrip Racing – will have Raybestos® Rookies behind the wheel for the second consecutive season.

David Ragan was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2007 Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, logging a 16th-place finish. Ragan scored the best finish by a freshman driver at California Speedway when he scored a 12th-place finish in the September event.

The best qualifying effort by a Raybestos® Rookie in 2007 was a ninth-place effort by Juan Pablo Montoya in last February’s Auto Club 500.

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 in 11 previous spring races at California Speedway. Johnson 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.

Kasey 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 CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Sam Hornish, Jr. 11 
Dario Franchitti 10 
Regan Smith 9 
Patrick Carpentier 1
Jacques Villeneuve 1
Michael McDowell 0 

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
Daytona 500 Hornish Jr., 15th

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 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 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 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 NEXTEL 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 NEXTEL Cup Series championship standings during the sport’s modern-era is 60 races (2001 MBNA Platinum 400 through 2002 Ford 400).