Michael McDowell was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the Lipton Tea 250 at Richmond. McDowell scored an eighth-place finish, his second top-10 in 14 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts. He claimed top rookie honors for the third time this season.
At least one Raybestos Rookie has scored top-10 finishes in the last seven consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
Two Raybestos Rookies are in the top-10 in Nationwide Series points: McDowell (eighth) and Scott Lagasse Jr. (ninth), who are separated by just 23 points.
McDowell has a two-point lead in the Raybestos Rookie standings (88-86) over Justin Allgaier, Brendan Gaughan and Scott Lagasse Jr. entering the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway.
Chase Miller was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2008 Diamond Hill Plywood 200, scoring an eighth-place finish.
The best finish by a Raybestos Rookie at Darlington is third-place by Todd Bodine in the 1991 fall race.
The most recent Raybestos Rookie to score a top-five finish at Darlington is Johnny Benson, who placed fourth in the 1994 fall race.
Kyle Busch is the most recent Raybestos Rookie to lead a lap at Darlington, holding the top spot once for 12 laps in 2004 Bi-Lo 200 (fall race).
(Camp & Assoc / Raybestos PR)(5-5-2009)
