…Justin Allgaier was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the Scotts Turf Builder 300 at Bristol. Allgaier scored a fifth-place finish, his first top-five in eight NASCAR Nationwide Series races and his second consecutive top-10. He claimed Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the first time this season and became the first freshman driver to finish in the top-five since 2005.
…Brendan Gaughan won the pole at Bristol, his first in five Nationwide Series starts. Gaughan’s best previous qualifying effort was 11th-place earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway.
…Two Raybestos Rookies led at Bristol: Gaughan and Michael Annett. Gaughan led once for six laps and has led at least one lap in the last two consecutive races. Annett led once for one lap, the first lap he had led in five career Nationwide Series starts.
…At least one Raybestos Rookie has now scored top-10 finishes in three of the first four races this season.
…Allgaier leads Brendan Gaughan by one point (45-44) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the O’Reilly 300 at Texas.
…Dario Franchitti was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2008 O’Reilly 300, scoring an 11th-place finish. Franchitti also led the race once for one lap and was the only first-year driver to lead the race.(Raybestos/Camp & Assoc. PR)(3-30-2009)
