Race 2 Win: Food City 250 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Busch Series

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Food City 250 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Raybestos® Rookie Kyle Busch won the Cabela's 250 at Michigan International Speedway. Busch scored his fifth career Busch Series win in his 30th career start. He has racked up 12 top-fives and 17 top-10 finishes in his young career. Busch's victory was his 10th top-five and 14th top-10 of the 2004 season.

Busch enters Friday's Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway second in the Busch Series championship standings, 97 points behind leader Martin Truex Jr.

Busch ties Greg Biffle for most wins by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Busch Series since the program was created in 1989. Biffle won five races for car owner Jack Roush in 2001.

Busch owns the record for most poles by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Busch Series. Entering the Food City 250 he has won four poles: Nazareth, Texas, Darlington, and Richmond. Kenny Wallace, who won three poles in 1989, held the previous mark.

Busch scored back-to-back wins for the first time in his career. He also won the August 7 Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Busch joins Steve Park as the only Raybestos® Rookies to win at Michigan in the 13 previous Busch Series races. Park won the 1997 event over Jimmy Spencer.

The Michigan race was the SIXTH race this season where Busch has led the most laps and the SEVENTH race where a Raybestos® Rookie has led the most laps. The other races where Busch has led the most laps: Nashville-June, Richmond, Texas, Charlotte, and Chicagoland. Raybestos® Rookie Clint Bowyer led the most laps in one race: Nashville-April. Bowyer has led five times in two races for 108 laps (144.63 miles).

Busch has led 29 times in 15 races for 844 laps (1116.56 miles) this season, the most of any driver in the series.

Busch maintains a commanding lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings over Paul Menard (291-169) entering the race at Bristol.

Other Raybestos® Rookies that have led a lap this season are J.J. Yeley and Billy Parker. Yeley has led twice in once race for 25 laps (37.50 miles), while Parker led once in one race for five laps (10.00 miles).

Busch won the Funai 250 at Richmond International Raceway from the pole, becoming the first Raybestos® Rookie to win from the Bud Pole since the program was established in 1989.

FOOD CITY 250 RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE TIDBITS

Coy Gibbs was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2003 Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway, collecting a 22nd place finish.

Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Sharpie Professional 250 at Bristol, grabbing a third place finish in his first ever Bristol start. He claimed the best finish ever by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Sharpie Professional 250 (spring race) at Bristol. The previous best effort was fifth by Kenny Wallace in 1989.

Kevin Harvick is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the Food City 250 at Bristol, capturing the 2000 August event.

Harvick is also the only first-year driver to lead the most laps in an August Bristol race. He led twice for 241 of the 250 laps, the most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie at Bristol since the program was created in 1989.

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent August race where TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top-10 was the 2000 Food City 500. Kevin Harvick won while Jay Sauter finished sixth.

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 or shares 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 by 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 291xxx Paul Menard 169 Clint Bowyer 146 J.J. Yeley 122 Billy Parker 74

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 Sharpie Professional 250 Kyle Busch, third O'Reilly 300 Kyle Busch, second Pepsi 300 Clint Bowyer, fourth Aaron's 312 Kyle Busch, fourth Stater Bros. 300 Kyle Busch, seventh Charter 250 Kyle Busch, fifth Funai 250 Kyle Busch, first Goulds Pumps 200 Kyle Busch, tenth Carquest Auto Parts 300 Kyle Busch, first MBNA America 200 Kyle Busch, fifth Federated Auto Parts 300 Clint Bowyer, third Meijer 300 Kyle Busch, first Alan Kulwicki 250 Clint Bowyer, 10th Winn-Dixie 250 Kyle Busch, 11th Tropicana Twister 300 J.J. Yeley, ninth Siemens 200 Paul Menard, 18th Goulds Pumps ITT Industries 250 Clint Bowyer, ninth Kroger 200 Kyle Busch, first Cabela's 250 Kyle Busch, first

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