Sharpie Professional 250 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

· Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway. Busch finished 17th and has taken Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors in each of the four races this season. Busch holds a nine point advantage (48-39) over Paul Menard in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the Sharpie Professional 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

· Busch led twice for 40 laps, the first laps he has led this season. He is also the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the Busch Series entering the Bristol race.

· Busch won his first career Bud Pole this past weekend at Darlington. He took the top starting spot in his 11th career Busch Series start. Busch is the first Raybestos® Rookie in the NASCAR Busch Series to win a pole for a race at Darlington since the series began competing there in 1982.

· Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie in the Busch Series with a top-10 finish, a seventh place effort in the Goody's Headache Powders 200 at North Carolina Speedway. He has scored four top-10 finishes in his 11-race Busch Series career entering the Bristol event.

· Busch ranks 12th in Busch Series points, 18 behind 11th place Tim Fedewa and has an eight-point advantage over 13th place Ron Hornaday Jr. Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie in the top-20 in series points and the only first-year driver to score a top-10 finish.

· Entering the Bristol event, three Busch Series drivers have competed in every Busch Series races this season: Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, and Donnie Neuenberger.

BRISTOL RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE TIDBITS

· Kenny Wallace owns the best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Sharpie Professional 250, a fifth place effort in 1997.

· TWO Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top-10 at Bristol just once. In 2002, Scott Riggs placed ninth just ahead of Shane Hmiel who came home 10th.

· 2002 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year Scott Riggs won his first career pole at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Sharpie Professional 250. His first pole came in just his fifth career start. Riggs is the only Raybestos® Rookie to capture a Bud Pole at Bristol Motor Speedway.

· The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap at Bristol is Riggs, who led the spring race in 2002 once for five laps. A Raybestos® Rookie has not posted a top-10 finish at Bristol since the spring race in 2002, nor has a first-year driver led a lap at the .533-mile speedway (three races).

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE RECORDS

· David Stremme was the 2003 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. Stremme started just 18 of the 34 races, a record number for fewest starts for a driver to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. He was the top rookie finisher in 16 of those starts. He was the only Raybestos® Rookie to score three top-three finishes and had more top-10 finishes (seven) than any other first-year driver. He led six races for a total of 86 laps.

· 2001 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year Greg Biffle holds SEVEN all time records by the rookie of the year: most wins (five), most top-fives (16), most top-10s (21), most money won ($1,623,546), most points (4,509), most laps led (948), and most races led (19).

· The best championship finish by a Raybestos® Rookie: third place Steve Park (1997) and Kevin Harvick (2000).

· Hermie Sadler was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a race, at Rougemont North Carolina, in 1993.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER              POINTS
Kyle Busch           48
Paul Menard          39
Donnie Neuenberger   33
Rick Markle          10
J. J. Yeley           9
Stan Boyd             9
Billy Parker          8 
Kevin Conway          1
Brian Conz            1
Clint Bowyer          0
  
HIGHEST FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE

EVENT               HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE
Hershey's Kisses 300 Kyle Busch, 24th           
Goody's Headache Powder 200 Kyle Busch, seventh
Sam's Town 300 Kyle Busch, 15th 
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Kyle Busch, 17th