THE NASCAR NEXTEL CUP ROOKIES: DAVID RAGAN, PAUL MENARD, BRANDON WHITT, DAVID REUTIMANN, JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, AJ ALLMENDINGER

Source: NASCAR
Date: 03/13/2007

The Rookies Are All About Business This Year

David Ragan (No. 6 AAA Ford) is leading the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings and is surprising most of his competitors. Coming into this year, Ragan was not the favorite to win the rookie of the year award, but has been posting finishes that contradict the critics’ picks. Ragan’s best finish came at the start of the season with a top five at Daytona International Speedway. Since then he has finished 16th at California and 37th at Las Vegas.

Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Texaco Havoline Dodge) has been one of the most anticipated rookies in years. He is currently second in the rookie standings, just seven points behind Ragan. Montoya has had a full plate, balancing full seasons in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and the NASCAR Busch Series. His top finish was 19th at Daytona.

Paul Menard (No. 15 Menards Chevrolet) is the new car out of the Dale Earnhardt Inc. stable. Menard didn’t make the Daytona 500, but made a comeback at California with a 20th-place finish. He finished 32nd at Las Vegas. Menard was the highest finishing NASCAR Busch Series regular last year, finishing the season sixth in the standings.

David Reutimann (No. 00 Domino’s Toyota) has not had the start he hoped for this season. Reutimann was caught in accidents at Daytona and California, finishing 40th and 33rd, respectively. His bad luck continued at Las Vegas, where he did not qualify for the race.

AJ Allmendinger (No. 84 Red Bull Toyota) is fifth in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings but he can’t seem to get things to work out in his favor. He is part of a new team and has to qualify for every race he enters. Allmendinger has yet to make a race this season. He has three rookie points for attempting to qualify.

Brandon Whitt (No. 72 Dutch Quality Stone Chevrolet) is last in the rookie standings with two points; he has failed to qualify for any of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events.

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