#15-Paul Menard was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the April 21 Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Menard scored a 25th-place finish and took top rookie honors for the first time in 2007. Juan Pablo Montoya leads David Ragan by five points (90-85) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the April 29 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Montoya is 16th in the Nextel Cup Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos Rookie. The late Davey Allison is the only Raybestos Rookie to win the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega. He won the 1987 event by .78 seconds over Terry Labonte. Allison also led the most laps in the race, holding the top spot six times for 108 of the 178 laps (the event was shortened by 10 laps due to darkness). Allison remains the only Raybestos Rookie to lead the most laps in the Aaron’s 499 and holds the record for most laps led by a rookie in the spring race at Talladega. Since Allison’s win in 1987, a Raybestos Rookie has finished in the top-five in the Aaron’s 499 just twice: Tony Stewart (fifth in 1999) and Kurt Busch (third in 2001). Only one Raybestos Rookie has won the pole position in 37 previous Aaron’s 499 races at Talladega: Jimmie Johnson (2002). Johnson won the second pole of his career and posted a seventh place finish.(Raybestos/Camp & Assoc PR)(4-25-2007)
