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

· Regan Smith was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the March 16 Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Smith scored a 25th-place finish and claimed Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the second time this season.

· Dario Franchitti leads the Raybestos® Rookie standings by one point (50-49) over Smith and Sam Hornish Jr. entering the March 30 Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

· GUARANTEED IN THE SHOW: Michael McDowell and Sam Hornish Jr. are the only members of the Raybestos® Rookie class with a guaranteed starting spot at Martinsville.

· GOTTA GO: Three Raybestos® Rookies entered in this weekend’s race at Martinsville do not have a guaranteed starting position: Franchitti, Smith, and Patrick Carpentier.

David Ragan was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2007 Goody’s Cool Orange 500, posting a 15th-place finish.

J.J. Yeley is the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the spring race at Martinsville, leading the 2006 race once for one lap.

DID YOU KNOW? Morgan Shepherd is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 (since 1975). Shepherd won the 1981 event, outlasting the late Neil Bonnett to score his first Sprint Cup Series win. Shepherd led the most laps in the race (three times for 203) and remains the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in the spring race at Martinsville. Two other Raybestos® Rookies scored top-10 finishes that same day: Ron Bouchard (ninth) and Mike Alexander (10th).

DID YOU KNOW? The most Raybestos® Rookies to finish in the top-10 in the spring race at Martinsville is FOUR. In 1979, Joe Millikan placed fifth followed by Harry Gant (sixth), Dale Earnhardt (seventh) and Terry Labonte (ninth).

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-five finish in the spring race at Martinsville is Dick Trickle. Trickle finished third in 1989, the best finish by a first-year driver since Morgan Shepherd won the 1981 Advance Auto Parts 500. Trickle also led the race once for seven laps.

The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-10 finish in the spring race at Martinsville is Jeff Gordon, who placed eighth in 1993.

Tony Stewart is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the pole for the 1999 spring race (since 1975). Stewart claimed his first career pole position in the event.

Top-five finishes by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Advance Auto Parts 500 (since 1975):

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
 
DRIVER                   POINTS

Dario Franchitti         50
Sam Hornish, Jr.         49
Regan Smith              49  
Patrick Carpentier       21
Jacques Villeneuve        1
Michael McDowell          0  
 
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 

· 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 (25 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 (51 races).

· AN HISTORICAL FIRST: For the first time in NASCAR’s modern-era (since 1972), THREE drivers shared the lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings in 2008. 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:

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).