#77-Sam Hornish Jr. was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the October 26 Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, scoring a 24th-place finish. Hornish Jr. grabbed top rookie honors for the third consecutive race and for the 10th time in 2008. Sam Hornish Jr. leads #01-Regan Smith by two points (195-193) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the November 2 Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Hornish Jr. has sole possession of first-place in the standings for the first time since the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The best finish by a Raybestos Rookie in three previous fall races at Texas is fifth by Clint Bowyer in 2006. Bowyer is the only Raybestos Rookie to score a top-five in three fall races at Texas. Only once in 15 previous races at Texas has a Raybestos Rookie won the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his first career Sprint Cup Series win by 5.920 seconds over Jeff Burton in 2000. Earnhardt Jr. led six times for six times for 106 laps, more than any other driver. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne are the only Raybestos Rookies to lead the most laps in 15 Sprint Cup race at Texas. The best start by a Raybestos Rookie in 15 previous races at Texas is third by Kasey Kahne (2004 spring) and Juan Pablo Montoya (2007 fall race).(Camp & Assoc/Raybestos) see rookie standings, history and more on my 2008 Rookie of the Year page.
