– NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Justin Allgaier was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the November 14 Able Body Labor 200 at Phoenix (Avondale, Ariz.) International Raceway. Allgaier posted a 16th-place finish to earn Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the second time in the last three races and for the 11th time this season.
Allgaier leads Brendan Gaughan by eight points (230-222) entering the November 21 Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
Allgaier is sixth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings, 14 behind fifth-place Mike Bliss and 86 ahead of seventh-place Steve Wallace.
THREE Raybestos® Rookies are in the top-10 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings. Allgaier, Gaughan (ninth) and Michael Annett (tenth).
TWO RAYBESTOS® ROOKIES BATTLING FOR TENTH PLACE IN POINTS: Annett is 10th in the standings, 41 points ahead of 11th-place Kenny Wallace and 44 ahead of 12th-place Tony Raines. Raybestos® Rookie Michael McDowell is 13th in the standings, 49 points behind Annett.
At least one Raybestos® Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in 26 of 34 NASCAR Nationwide Series races this season.
Bryan Clauson was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2008 Ford 300, collecting a 34th-place finish. He also led the race once for one lap.
DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Ford 300 is third by Kyle Busch (2004) and Greg Biffle (2001).
DID YOU KNOW? Casey Atwood (1998) and David Ragan (2007) are the only Raybestos® Rookies to win pole positions at Homestead.
DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-10 in four of the last five Nationwide Series races at Homestead.
DID YOU KNOW? Only once in 14 previous Nationwide Series races at Homestead have TWO Raybestos® Rookie finished in the top-five. In 2001, Greg Biffle place third just ahead of fellow Raybestos® Rookie Scott Wimmer, who grabbed a fourth place finish.
Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Homestead:
1999: Hank Parker Jr., fourth
2001: Greg Biffle, third
2001: Scott Wimmer, fourth
2004: Kyle Busch, third
Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Homestead:
1995: Jeff Fuller, eighth
1995: Curtis Markham, 10th
1997: Matt Kenseth, sixth
1998: Dave Blaney, sixth
1999: Hank Parker Jr., fourth
2000: Jimmie Johnson, sixth
2001: Greg Biffle, third
2001: Scott Wimmer, fourth
2004: Kyle Busch, third
2005: Jon Wood, sixth
2006: Todd Kluever, ninth
2007: Marcos Ambrose, 10th
Raybestos® Rookies to lead a lap at Homestead:
1997: Steve Park (once for nine laps)
1999: Hank Parker, Jr. (led 32 laps)
2001: Scott Wimmer (once for 11 laps)
2004: Kyle Busch (once for three laps)
2007: Brad Keselowski (once for 18 laps)
2007: David Ragan (once for two laps)
2008: Bryan Clauson (once for one lap)
RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Justin Allgaier 230
Brendan Gaughan 222
Michael McDowell 193
Michael Annett 192
Erik Darnell 156
Scott Lagasse Jr. 154
John Wes Townley 138
Ken Butler III 93
Terry Cook 60
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
Dollar General 300 Justin Allgaier, 12th
Kroger On Track for the Cure 250 Brendan Gaughan, fifth
Able Body Labor 200 Justin Allgaier, 16th
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 (101 races).
· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Nationwide Series is Justin Allgaier. Allgaier captured the top starting spot for the 2009 Kroger On Track For The Cure 250 at Memphis (Millington, Tenn.) Motorsports Park (three 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