#6-David Ragan was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the August 21 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Ragan scored an 18th-place finish and took top rookie honors for the ninth time this season. #42-Juan Pablo Montoya leads Ragan by 23 points (213-190) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the August 25 Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Sharpie 500 will be race #7 in the Raybestos Rookie Magnificent Seven program. The Raybestos Rookie of the Race normally pays $1,500 but that increased to $5,000 at seven designated races throughout the 2007 season. Montoya has captured the bonus money four times this season (Las Vegas, Darlington, Infineon and Chicagoland) while Ragan has grabbed the extra cash twice (Daytona and Martinsville). Montoya is 18th in the Nextel Cup Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos Rookie. A Raybestos Rookie has won at least one race in each of the past three consecutive seasons. The best finish by a Raybestos Rookie in the night race at Bristol is second by Kevin Harvick in 2001. Since 1975, only one Raybestos Rookie has won the pole position for the August race at Bristol, Tony Stewart in the 1999 Sharpie 500. The record for most wins by a Raybestos Rookie is three, shared by Tony Stewart (1999) and Jimmie Johnson (2002). At least one Raybestos Rookie has won a Bud Pole in each of the last 11 years (1996-2006).(Camp & Assoc/Raybestos PR), see the standings, full notes, history and more on my 2007 Rookies page.(8-24-2007)
