Tuesday

Raybestos Rookie News and Notes: Kobalt Tools 500

2010 Raybestos Rookie Contender Logo

• Kevin Conway was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Feb. 28 Shelby American at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, posting a 36^th-place finish.

• Conway leads Terry Cook by 19 points (22-3) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the March 7 Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.

• Joey Logano was the top Raybestos® Rookie in the 2009 Kobalt Tools 500, logging a 30^th-place finish.

• DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has scored top-10 finishes in two of the last four spring races at Atlanta.

• DO YOU REMEMBER? Kevin Harvick scored a memorable win as a Raybestos® Rookie in the 2001 Kobalt Tools 500.  He beat Jeff Gordon by just .006 seconds to capture his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in just his third career start.

• Raybestos® Rookies Robby Gordon (1997) and Johnny Benson (1996) won their first career pole positions in back-to-back spring races at Atlanta.  Gordon won the pole in his 11^th career start while Benson took the top spot in just his fourth career start.

• DID YOU KNOW?  Gordon is the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win the pole for the spring race at Atlanta.

• Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the Kobalt Tools 500 (since 1975):

1987:  Davey Allison, fifth

1989:   Dick Trickle, third

1994:   Jeff Burton, fourth

1998:   Kenny Irwin, fifth

2001:   Kevin Harvick, first

2002:   Jimmie Johnson, third

2004:   Kasey Kahne, third

2007:   Juan Pablo Montoya, fifth

• DID YOU KNOW? The late Kenny Irwin holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in the spring race at Atlanta.  In 1998, Irwin led five times for 112 laps.

• Top-10  finishes by Raybestos® Rookie in the Kobalt Tools 500 (since 1975):

1978:   Connie Saylor, eighth

1979:   Joe Millikan, eighth

1980:   Jody Ridley, sixth

1980:   Slick Johnson, 10^th

1981:   Morgan Shepherd, eighth

1982:   Jim Sauter, 10^th

1987:   Davey Allison, fifth

1989:   Dick Trickle, third

1989:   Hut Stricklin, eighth

1994:   Jeff Burton, fourth

1998:   Kenny Irwin, fifth

2001:   Kevin Harvick, first

2002:   Jimmie Johnson, third

2002:   Ryan Newman, 10^th

2004:   Kasey Kahne, third

2006:   Reed Sorenson, 10^th

2007:   Juan Pablo Montoya, fifth

• Since 1975, TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top 10 in the spring race at Atlanta Motor Speedway THREE times.

• From 1978 until 1982, at least one Raybestos® Rookie finished in the top-10 in the Kobalt Tools 500, a streak of five consecutive races: Connie Saylor (eighth in 1978), Joe Millikan (eighth in 1979), Jody Ridley (sixth) and Slick Johnson (sixth and 10^th, respectably, in 1980), Morgan Shepherd (eighth in 1981), and Jim Sauter (10^th in 1982).

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER                                            POINTS

Kevin Conway                                    22

Terry Cook                                            3

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE

EVENT                                              HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE

Auto Club 500                                  Kevin Conway, 31^st

Shelby American                             Kevin Conway, 36^th

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

• Joey Logano won 2009 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  Logano captured top rookie honors 26 times in 36 races and officially claimed the honor by 33 points (270-237) over Scott Speed.  At 19 years of age, Logano became the youngest driver to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

• Logano scored his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (race No. 17).  The victory came in his 20^th career start.  He finished the season with one win, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes and placed 20^th in the final series championship standings.

• Logano is the THIRD driver from Joe Gibbs Racing to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year, joining Tony Stewart (1999) and Denny Hamlin (2006).

• DID YOU KNOW? Logano is the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a Sprint Cup Series race, capturing the 2009 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway ahead of second-place Jeff Gordon (23 races).

• DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Sprint Cup Series is Patrick Carpentier.  Carpentier captured the top starting spot for the 2008 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (59 races).

• DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-five finish is Logano, who placed third in the 2009 AMP Energy 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (seven races).

• Regan Smith (2008) became the first Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the 52-year history of the program without a DNF (did not finish).  He was running at the finish in all 34 starts he made and captured top rookie honors over Sam Hornish Jr. by just seven points (236-229).

• 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.

• The record for most earnings by a Raybestos® Rookie 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 during their first season only three times:

1981:   Morgan Shepherd (one) and Ron Bouchard (one)

2000:   Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two) and Matt Kenseth (one)

2002:   Jimmie Johnson (three) and Ryan Newman (one)

• 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).

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 aff iliated 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 & Ass0ciates, Inc., For Raybestos, Press Release