Regan Smith was able to out perform drivers that have collected victories in the Indianapolis 500, and assembled championship runs in the Indy Series, to collect the distinction as the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year.

“You know, there were a lot of big names that I was racing against and you look at the stuff at the beginning of the year, not very many people had me chartered as one of ‘em that was going to contend for Raybestos Rookie of the Year championship.  So definitely had a little bit of a chip on the shoulder about that and wanted to go out there and prove that there is still a good ol’ stock car path and NASCAR path to get to this series.” Smith continued, “I feel like we did that to a certain extent.  Obviously there were weeks I wanted to run better and there was weeks where we ran good and didn’t get what we deserved or ran good and got what we deserved. All in all, I'm very proud to win the Raybestos Rookie of the Year.”

Smith is the first driver to grab the award in the history of Dale Earnhardt Inc., but the award has no impact on his future at the company. With DEI and Chip Ganassi Racing merging in 2009, Smith is unsure of his future with the organization. DEI plans to keep Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 1 car, and place Aric Almirola in the No. 8 to compete full-time next season. Juan Pablo Montoya will pilot the No. 42 next year, leaving the No. 41 vacant as of now.

“This time of year if you don’t figure out what you’re doing it’s always difficult but it’s something at the end of the day you can put that on the shelf at the house and have that accomplishment,” said an optimistic Smith. “I’m very confident in my abilities as a race car driver.  This year’s been a tough year and was a tough year for all the rookies.  No excuses for that.  It was a difficult year with the new car and that’s all their way to it.  I’m pretty confident I’ll be driving a Cup car for somebody next year.  I just don’t know which one and if not then I’ll look to the other two series and work hard to get back to this level.”