Catchfence

2010 Raybestos Rookie Contender Logo

• Colin Braun was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the August 14 CARFAX 250 at Michigan International Speedway.  Braun scored a ninth-place finish, his fourth top-10 of the season and claimed top rookie honors for the sixth time in 2010.  He also led the race once for one lap.

• Brian Scott leads Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 18 points (194-176) in the overall Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the August 20 Food City 250 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

• Michael Annett was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2009 Food City 250, scoring an eighth-place finish.

• DID YOU KNOW? Kevin Harvick (2000) is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the Food City 250 at Bristol (21 previous races).

• Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Food City 250:

1991:   Jeff Gordon, third

1997:   Steve Park, second

2000:   Kevin Harvick, FIRST

2004:   Kyle Busch, third

2008:   Cale Gale, fourth

• TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top-10 in the August race at Bristol three times in 21 previous races:

2000:   Kevin Harvick (FIRST) and Jay Sauter (sixth)

2007:   David Ragan (sixth) and Brad Keselowski (seventh)

2009:   Michael Annett (eighth) and Michael McDowell (10^th)

• Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Food City 250:

1989:   Kenny Wallace, ninth

1991:   Jeff Gordon, third

1994:   Johnny Benson, eighth

1995:   Jeff Fuller, 10^th

1997:   Steve Park, second

1998:   Wayne Grubb, seventh

2000:   Kevin Harvick, FIRST

2000:   Jay Sauter, sixth

2001:   Scott Wimmer, sixth

2007:   David Ragan, sixth

2007:   Brad Keselowski, seventh

2008:   Cale Gale, fourth

2009:   Michael Annett, eighth

2009:   Michael McDowell, 10^th

• DID YOU KNOW? Cale Gale (2008) and Kevin Harvick (2000) are the only Raybestos® Rookie pole winners in the August race at Bristol since the program was created in 1989 (21 races).

• ALL RAYBESTOS ROOKIE FRONT ROW Gale was joined on the front row for the 2008 Food City 250 by fellow Raybestos® Rookie Dario Franchitti, comprising the first all-rookie front row since the rookie program was created in 1989.

• LEADING THE WAY Harvick is also the only first-year driver to lead the most laps in an August race at Bristol.  He led twice for 241 of 250 laps in the 2000 event, the most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in 43 previous NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Bristol.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER                POINTS

Brian Scott           194
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.   176
Colin Braun           170
James Buescher         97

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE

EVENT                                HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE

DRIVE4COPD 300                       James Buescher,  eighth
Stater Bros. 300                     Brian Scott,  10th
Sam’s Town 300                       Colin Braun,  28th
Scotts Turf Builder 300              Ricky Stenhouse Jr.,  25th
Nashville 300                        Brian  Scott, 15th
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200             Ricky Stenhouse Jr.,  ninth
O’Reilly Auto Parts 300              Colin Braun,  13th
Aaron’s 312                          Brian  Scott, 10th
BUBBA Burger 250                     James Buescher,  12th
Royal Purple 200                     Brian Scott,  25th
Heluva Good! 200                     Brian Scott, ninth
TECH-NET Auto Service 300            Brian Scott, 33rd
Federated Auto Parts 300             Brian Scott, 28th
Meijer 300                           Colin  Braun, 10th
The Bucyrus 200                      Colin Braun,  11th
New England  200                     Colin  Braun, 12th
Subway Jalapeno 250                  Ricky Stenhouse Jr.,  third
Dollar General 300                   Brian Scott,  third
Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250  Brian Scott, sixth
Kroger 200                           Ricky  Stenhouse Jr., 11th
U.S. Cellular 250                    Ricky Stenhouse  Jr., 14th
Zippo 200                            Brian Scott, 13th
CARFAX 250                           Colin Braun, ninth

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

• Justin Allgaier captured 2009 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.  Allgaier claimed Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors 11 times during the 2009 season and his final margin of victory over Brendan Gaughan was 18 points (269-251).  He finished the year with three top-five and 12 top-10 finishes and placed sixth in the series championship standings.  His best finish was a fifth-place effort at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (race No. 4).  Allgaier won his first career pole this past season at Memphis (Millington, Tenn.) Motorsports Park (race No. 32) and in his 36^th career start.

• DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a Nationwide Series race is Juan Pablo Montoya.  Montoya captured the 2007 Corona Mexico 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Mexico City, Mexico), crossing the finish line .750 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin (125 races).

• DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Nationwide Series is Justin Allgaier, who captured the top starting position for the 2009 Kroger 250 at Memphis (Millington, Tenn.) Motorsports Park (27 races).

• The most recent streak for at least two Raybestos® Rookies to rank inside the top-10 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings is 21 consecutive races (2007 race at Kentucky Speedway, race No. 16, through 2008 Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, race No. 1).

• DID YOU KNOW? Since 2001, Roush Fenway Racing has won FOUR Raybestos® Rookie of the Year titles in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

2007:   David Ragan

2006:   Danny O’Quinn Jr.

2005:   Carl Edwards

2001:   Greg Biffle

• Kyle Busch posted a record-setting year on his way to the 2004 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title.  In 34 starts, Busch won five times, captured five poles and scored 16 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes.  His second-place finish in the Nationwide Series championship standings is a record for a Raybestos® Rookie.  Other Raybestos® Rookie records Busch owns or shares: most starts (34), most wins (tied with Greg Biffle), most top fives (tied with Greg Biffle), most top 10s, most money won ($2,027,050), most championship points (4,943), most laps led (1,108) and most races led (21).

• David Stremme holds the record for fewest starts by a driver to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year.  In 2003, he started just 18 of the 34 races and was the top rookie finisher in 16 of those starts.  Stremme scored three top-three finishes and had more top-10 finishes (seven) than any other first-year driver.  He led six races for a total of 86 laps.

• David Green was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a Nationwide Series race, at Lanier, Ga., in 1991.  Green captured the Nestle 200 by 1.58-seconds over Jeff Gordon, a fellow Raybestos® Rookie.  A third Raybestos® Rookie, Todd Bodine, placed eighth in the race.

• Dennis Setzer was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win TWO or more races in a season.  In 1994, he won the Ford Credit 300 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and The Pantry 300 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

• Steve Park was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win THREE or more races in a season.  In 1997, he won the BellSouth Mobility/Opryland 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Speedway, the Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan International Speedway and the Autolite Platinum 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

• Kenny Wallace was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole in the Nationwide Series.  Wallace grabbed the top starting spot for the 1989 Goody’s 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the first race in the history of the Raybestos® Rookie of the Year program.

Raybestos® brand brake and chassis parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake and Chassis Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems and chassis parts in the transportation industry.  The brake line includes everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes and hydraulic parts, while the chassis line features tie rods, ball points, idler arms and sway bar links.  Raybestos brand braking and chassis systems are also the only systems used by NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing in competition.  For more information about Raybestos brakes, visit Raybestos.com.  For more information on Raybestos Chassis visit RaybestosChassis.com

Affinia Group Inc. is an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket parts for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With more than $1.8 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and India. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.

*Affinia Group Inc.’s affiliated companies include Brake Parts Inc. WIX Filtration Corp LLC, Affinia Products  Corp LLC and other high quality manufacturers of the Affinia family of brands.

- Camp & Associates, Inc., for Raybestos, Press Release