Race 2 Win: Sprint Cup Series Race Notes

Sprint Cup Series

Subway Fresh Fit 500 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Patrick Carpentier was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the April 6 Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, the first time he has taken the honor in 2008. Carpentier scored a 28th-place finish, his best on an oval in his seven-race Sprint Cup Series career.

Regan Smith holds a one-point lead (68-67) over Sam Hornish Jr. in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the April 12 Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.

DID YOU KNOW? Four different drivers have claimed Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors in seven races this season.

GUARANTEED IN THE SHOW: Smith, Hornish, Jr., and McDowell are the only members of the Raybestos® Rookie class with a guaranteed starting spot at Phoenix.

GOTTA GO: Two Raybestos® Rookies entered in this weekend’s race at Phoenix do not have a guaranteed starting positions: Franchitti and Carpentier.

Paul Menard was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2007 Subway Fresh Fit 500, collecting a 25th-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart are the only Raybestos® Rookies to win in 23 Sprint Cup races at Phoenix. Stewart won the 1999 fall race from the pole, beating Mark Martin to the checkered flag by 2.081 seconds. Busch captured the 2005 fall race by .609 seconds over Greg Biffle.

The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in three spring races at Phoenix is fifth by Clint Bowyer in 2006. Bowyer is the only freshman driver to claim a top-five finish in the April race at the one-mile Arizona Speedway.

The best qualifying effort by a Raybestos® Rookie in three previous spring races at Phoenix is sixth by Denny Hamlin in 2006.

The most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in the spring race at Phoenix are 21 by Clint Boywer in the 2006 event.

Top-five finishes by a Raybestos® Rookies in the spring race at Phoenix: 2006: Clint Bowyer, fifth

Top-10 finishes by a Raybestos® Rookies in the spring race at Phoenix: 2005: Kyle Busch, eighth 2006: Clint Bowyer, fifth

Raybestos® Rookies that have led at least one lap in three previous spring races at Phoenix: 2005: Kyle Busch (once for eight laps) 2006: Clint Bowyer (three times for 21 laps) 2006: J.J. Yeley (once for one lap)

DID YOU KNOW? Stewart is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps at Phoenix, leading three times for 150 laps in 1999.

DID YOU KNOW? THREE Raybestos® Rookies have won pole positions at Phoenix, all coming in the fall race: Stewart, Casey Atwood (2001) and Ryan Newman (2002).

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Regan Smith 68
Sam Hornish, Jr. 67
Dario Franchitti 61
Patrick Carpentier 39
Michael McDowell 18
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

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 (27 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 (53 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).