– NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Michael Annett was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the October 10 Copart 300 at Auto Club (Fontana, Calif.) Speedway. Annett grabbed a sixth-place finish, his best in 31 NASCAR Nationwide Series races and his fourth top-10 this season. He claimed top rookie honors for the fifth time in 2009.
Brendan Gaughan claimed a seventh-place finish at Auto Club Speedway, his seventh top-10 of the season.
DID YOU KNOW? At least one Raybestos® Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in 25 of 30 NASCAR Nationwide Series races this season.
Justin Allgaier leads Gaughan by 17 points (224-207) entering the October 16 Dollar General 300 at Lowe’s (Concord, N.C.) Motor Speedway.
THREE Raybestos® Rookies are in the top-10 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings. Allgaier is fifth followed by Gaughan (ninth) and Michael McDowell (tenth).
Bryan Clauson was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2008 Dollar General 300 at Charlotte, logging a 30th-place finish.
DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-10 in four of the last five consecutive fall races at Charlotte:
2004: Kyle Busch, fifth
2005: Carl Edwards, fourth
2006: Danny O’Quinn Jr., fifth
2007: David Ragan, sixth
DID YOU KNOW? TWO Raybestos® Rookies have finished inside the top-10 in the same fall race at Charlotte just TWICE since the program was created in 1989 (20 races):
1990: Ward Burton (seventh) and Dave Mader III (eighth)
2005: Carl Edwards (fourth) and Jon Wood (seventh)
DID YOU KNOW? Greg Biffle is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the fall race at Charlotte. Biffle won the 2001 race over Jason Keller (race finished under caution) after leading the event twice for 11 laps.
Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the fall race at Charlotte:
1995: Jeff Fuller, fifth
2001: Greg Biffle, FIRST
2004: Kyle Busch, fifth
2005: Carl Edwards, fourth
2006: Danny O’Quinn Jr., fifth
Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the fall race at Charlotte:
1989: Kenny Wallace, eighth
1990: Ward Burton, seventh
1990: Dave Mader III, eighth
1995: Jeff Fuller, fifth
1997: Steve Park, sixth
2000: Ron Hornaday, ninth
2001: Greg Biffle, FIRST
2002: Shane Hmiel, 10th
2004: Kyle Busch, fifth
2005: Carl Edwards, fourth
2005: Jon Wood, seventh
2006: Danny O’Quinn Jr., fifth
2007: David Ragan, sixth
RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Justin Allgaier 224
Brendan Gaughan 207
Michael McDowell 189
Michael Annett 182
Scott Lagasse Jr. 154
Erik Darnell 143
John Wes Townley 124
Ken Butler III 82
Terry Cook 48
HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
Camping World 300 Michael McDowell, 14th
Stater Bros. 300 Brendan Gaughan, ninth
Sam’s Town 300 Michael McDowell, sixth
Food City 500 Justin Allgaier, fifth
O’Reilly 300 Justin Allgaier, 10th
Nashville 300 Scott Lagasse Jr., 10th
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Brendan Gaughan, seventh
Aaron’s 312 Scott Lagasse Jr., eighth
Lipton Tea 250 Michael McDowell, eighth
Diamond Hill Plywood Erik Darnell, fourth
CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 Brendan Gaughan, second
Heluva Good! 200 Justin Allgaier, 10th
Federated Auto Parts 300 Michael McDowell, eighth
Meijer 300 Brendan Gaughan, fourth
Northern Tool.com 250 Erik Darnell, fourth
Camping World RV Sales 200 Erik Darnell, ninth
Subway Jalapeno 250 Justin Allgaier, eighth
Dollar General 300 Justin Allgaier, 10th
Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Michael Annett, seventh
Kroger 200 Brendan Gaughan, 12th
U.S. Cellular 250 Michael McDowell, eighth
Zippo 200 Justin Allgaier, 17th
CARFAX 250 Justin Allgaier, seventh
Food City 250 Michael Annett, eighth
NAPA Auto Parts 200 Brendan Gaughan, ninth
Degree V12 300 Michael Annett, 14th
Virginia 529 College Savings 250 Justin Allgaier, eighth
Dover 200 Michael Annett, 13th
Kansas Lottery 300 Justin Allgaier, sixth
Copart 300 Michael Annett, sixth
RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY
· 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 (97 races).
· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Nationwide Series is Erik Darnell. Darnell captured the top starting spot for the 2009 Northern Tool.com 250 at The Milwaukee (Wisc.) Mile (16 races).
· Landon Cassill won the 2008 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Cassill finished the season with one pole and five top-10 finishes in 19 starts. He grabbed the top starting spot for the Camping World RV Sales 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (race No. 18). His best finishes were sixth-place efforts at Gateway (Madison, Ill.) International Raceway and Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.
· 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).
· Roush Fenway Racing has won THREE OF THE LAST FOUR Raybestos® Rookie of the Year titles in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and FOUR since 2001.
2007: David Ragan
2006: Danny O’Quinn Jr.
2005: Carl Edwards
2001: Greg Biffle
Danny O’Quinn Jr. narrowly edged John Andretti to win the 2006 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. O’Quinn Jr. finished one point higher than Andretti in the final standings, the closet margin in NASCAR national series history. He also became the second driver in series history to win the award without completing the full schedule.
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.
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- Camp & Associates, Inc. Press Release