#20-Joey Logano was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the October 17 NASCAR Banking 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Logano scored a fifth-place finish, his second top-five and sixth top-10 finish this season and grabbed top rookie honors for the 22nd time this season. He is just the third Raybestos Rookie to finish in the top-five in the fall race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The others were Ron Bouchard (fifth in 1981) and Jeff Gordon (fifth in 1993). Logano is the first Raybestos Rookie to score a top-10 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway since Jamie McMurray placed seventh in 2003. Logano leads #82-Scott Speed by 29 points (226-197) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the October 25 Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Since 1974 only two Raybestos Rookies have won at Martinsville: Earl Ross (1974 fall race) and Morgan Shepherd (1981 spring race). Only one Raybestos Rookie has won a pole for the fall race at Martinsville (since 1975): Ryan Newman in 2002. Denny Hamlin owns the best finish by a Raybestos Rookie at Martinsville since Morgan Shepherd won the 1981 spring race. Hamlin finished second in the 2006 fall race, .544 seconds behind race winner Jimmie Johnson. The most laps led by a Raybestos Rookie in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 (since 1974) is 79 by Earl Ross in 1974 [won the race]. The most recent Raybestos Rookie to win a pole position in the Sprint Cup Series is Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier captured the top starting spot for the 2008 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (51 races).(Camp & Assoc./Raybestos), see rookie standings, history and notes on my 2009 Rookies page.(10-22-2009)
