Race 2 Win: Sprint Cup Series Race Notes

Sprint Cup Series

Dodge Challenger 500 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Regan Smith was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the May 3 Crown Royal 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Smith scored a 21st-place finish and captured top rookie honors for the fifth time in 10 races this season. 500He has been the top Raybestos® Rookie in all three short track races.

Smith leads the Raybestos® Rookie standings by one point (97-96) over Sam Hornish Jr. entering the May 10 Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

Juan Pablo Montoya was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2007 Dodge Challenger 500, posting a 23rd-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? Since 2001, TWO Raybestos® Rookies have won pole positions at Darlington Raceway: Kurt Busch (2001) and Kasey Kahne (2004).

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in seven of the past nine seasons at Darlington:
1999: Tony Stewart, sixth
2000: Matt Kenseth, sixth
2001: Kevin Harvick, eighth
2002: Ryan Newman, fifth (spring race)
2002: Jimmie Johnson, sixth (spring race)
2002: Ryan Newman, second (fall race)
2002: Jimmie Johnson, ninth (fall race)
2003: Jamie McMurray, fourth (fall race)
2003: Greg Biffle, 10th (fall race)
2004: Kasey Kahne, fifth (fall race)
2006: Denny Hamlin, 10th

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Darlington (since 1975):
1975: Bruce Hill, fifth (fall race)
1979: Terry Labonte, third (fall race)
1984: Rusty Wallace, fourth (fall race)
2002: Ryan Newman, fifth (spring race)
2002: Ryan Newman, second (fall race)
2003: Jamie McMurray, fourth (fall race)
2004: Kasey Kahne, fifth (fall race)

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Darlington (since 1975):
1975: Bruce Hill, fifth (fall race)
1975: Bruce Jacobi, ninth (spring race)
1977: Ricky Rudd, seventh (fall race)
1978: Ronnie Thomas, ninth (fall race)
1979: Terry Labonte, third (fall race)
1980: Lake Speed, eighth (spring race)
1980: Jody Ridley, 10th (spring race)
1981: Tim Richmond, eighth (fall race)
1982: Geoffrey Bodine, seventh (fall race)
1982: Mark Martin, seventh (spring race)
1984: Rusty Wallace, fourth (fall race)
1984: Phil Parsons, seventh (fall race)
1984: Phil Parsons, eighth (spring race)
1991: Bobby Hamilton, 10th (fall race)
1993: Kenny Wallace, 10th (fall race)
1994: Jeff Burton, eighth (fall race)
2001: Kevin Harvick, eighth (fall race)
2002: Ryan Newman, second (fall race)
2002: Jimmie Johnson, ninth (fall race)
2003: Jamie McMurray, fourth (fall race)
2003: Greg Biffle, 10th (fall race)
2004: Kasey Kahne, fifth (fall race)
2006: Denny Hamlin, 10th

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap at Darlington is Kasey Kahne, who led three times for 24 laps in the 2004 spring race.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Regan Smith 97
Sam Hornish, Jr. 96
Dario Franchitti 72
Patrick Carpentier 65
Michael McDowell 45
Jacques Villeneuve 1

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
Daytona 500 Hornish Jr., 15th
Auto Club 500 Smith, 31st
UAW-Dodge 400 Franchitti, 31st
Kobalt Tools 500 Hornish Jr., 25th
Food City 500 Smith, 26th
Goody’s Cool Orange 500 Smith, 14th
Samsung 500 Carpentier, 28th
Subway Fresh Fit 500 Hornish Jr., 20th
Aaron’s 499 Smith, 21st
Crown Royal 400 Smith, 21st

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 (30 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 (56 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).