Smith's future still in limbo as rookies feted for success

CONCORD, N.C. -- Regan Smith overtook Sam Hornish Jr. on the final weekend of the season to earn the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but the battle for the newest RoY is just beginning.

Smith, as of today, does not have a ride for 2009 despite the fact that he won the Rookie Award and his No. 01 Principal Financial Chevrolet is locked into the top 35 in points for next season.

On a day of celebration for him and his entire team -- most of whom made the trip to the Speedway Club at Lowe's Motor Speedway with him -- Smith was still upbeat about next season.

Rookie of the Year

Cup Series

Driver	Pts.	Races	W	T5	T10
R. Smith	236	34	0	0	0
S. Hornish Jr.	229	34	0	0	0
P. Carpentier	210	24	0	0	0
M. McDowell	193	20	0	0	0
D. Franchitti	119	10	0	0	0

Nationwide Series

Driver	Pts.	Races	W	T5	T10
L. Cassill	222	19	0	0	5
B. Clauson	214	21	0	1	2
D. Franchitti	189	14	0	1	2
C. Gale	179	13	0	1	3
B. Keselowski	127	11	0	0	0

Truck Series

Driver	Pts.	Races	W	T5	T10
C. Braun	234	25	0	3	8
B. Scott	215	25	0	2	7
S. Speed	191	16	1	4	9
D. Lia	188	22	1	1	4
J. Marks	155	18	0	0	1
M. Mitchell	131	13	0	0	1
A. Lally	95	9	0	0	0

"Right from the start of the season, there was a lot of uncertainty, questions about the 01 car," Smith said. "But right from the beginning, everyone at DEI --Teresa [Earnhardt], Max [Siegel], John [Story], all of them -- told me not to worry about what was in the media, the car is going to be there every week, just keep doing what you're doing, keep it in the top 35 and we'll be fine."

Despite all the uneasiness and the merger of DEI with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Smith is confident he'll have a ride for '09. "There are still some good opportunities out there yet," he said. "I don't know which one yet. Whether it's something to do with the Earnhardt-Ganassi operation or another organization, I think I can bring a lot to the table."

He brings the Rookie of the Year title with him wherever he goes, along with $91,500 in earnings from Raybestos. Smith outlasted Hornish by a 236-229 count that was aided by the fact that Hornish missed the season-ending Ford 400 after failing to qualify.

Smith was the top-finishing rookie 11 times in 34 races and led or shared the point lead in 26 of the 36 races.

Smith is the first rookie in the 52-year history of the award to be running at the finish in every race of a season, and he's also the first from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to win the award.

"It's so important for me to have my team here, because you can have a 5-cent part that will rob you of an entire race," Smith said in accepting the award. "I just want to tell them how much I appreciate that.

"It's a cool thing to bring the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award to DEI. There are some big names and pretty big hitters that have come through there -- Dale Jr., Steve Park and Martin Truex Jr. -- and run for Rookie of the Year honors. I'm very proud of that fact. I also thank Raybestos for giving us young guys our own battle to win."

Landon Cassill won the rookie race in the Nationwide Series, despite running just 19 races. He nipped Bryan Clauson 222-214.

Cassill, who began racing at age 3, is just the third driver to win the Raybestos award without starting all the races. The other two were David Stremme in 2003 and Danny O'Quinn in 2006.

Cassill finished with a pole and five top-10s, and earned top rookie honors in seven races. "As rookies, we went through a lot this year," Cassill said. "The toughest part was knowing that I had to finish in a certain spot so that I could put the points in the bank to cover the races I wasn't going to run."

Cassill thanked his team owners for the opportunity.

"I can't thank my team owners, Dale Jr. and Rick Hendrick, for believing in me," he said. "Mr. Hendrick is a very caring person, and Dale Jr. is always there for advice. He is quick to put me in my place when I do something stupid, but he is the first one to come down and congratulate me when we're in the top 10.

"If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here."

Colin Braun, the road-racing prodigy from Texas, continued Jack Roush's stranglehold on the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series by earning Roush's sixth RoY trophy in 10 years.

"This is an award that Jack Roush has had a lock on the past several years, and Jack told me that my No.1 goal was to win this, so there weren't a lot of options for me other than to win this title," Braun laughed. "It's just cool to be in the same category as Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle.

"If I didn't win this, he'd probably kick my butt."

Braun, who will be back in the No. 6 Ford F-150 next season, had three top-five and eight top-10 finishes including a third-place run at Talladega in October. He topped Brian Scott for the rookie honor by 19 points, 234-215.

Josh Russell, vice-president of marketing for Raybestos parent Affinia Under Vehicle Group, celebrated the company's 10th year of sponsoring the Rookie award.

"This is our signature event, and we are proud to recognize the accomplishments of the top rookie drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series," he said. "We really enjoy each year being able to watch young drivers learn and grow, and today's Raybestos Rookies of the Year are tomorrow's superstars.

In addition to the point fund checks, each driver received a custom leather jacket and each team earned $5,000 worth of Raybestos-brand racing pads and equipment.