Stater Bros. 300 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS - NASCAR BUSCH SERIES

· Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway. Busch finished fourth, his third top-five of the season and fifth of his 15-race Busch Series career. He has been the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in seven of the eight races this season. Busch stretched his lead to 43 points over Paul Menard (120-77) in the Raybestos® Rookie Standings.

· DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has finished fourth or better in each of the last FOUR Busch Series races entering the 1-800-PIT-SHOP.COM 300 at California Speedway.

· DID YOU KNOW? Busch has led at least one lap in each of the last FOUR consecutive Busch Series races entering the California race. The streak began at the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway in March. He led the Talladega race once for two laps.

· A Raybestos® Rookie has now scored a top-10 finish in each of the last FIVE Aaron's 312 races at Talladega: Mike Borkowski (10th in 2000), Greg Biffle (sixth in 2001), Casey Mears (fifth in 2002), and Coy Gibbs (tenth in 2003), and Kyle Busch (fourth in 2004).

· Busch is fourth in the Busch Series championship standings, 16-points behind third place Martin Truex Jr. and 43 behind leader Michael Waltrip. Busch holds a 62-point advantage over fourth place Robby Gordon. No other Raybestos® Rookie ranks in the top-20 in the standings.

· The Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway was the first race in 2004 where TWO Raybestos® Rookies each led at least one lap in the race.

· Entering the Talladega race, Busch has led the most miles and laps of any Raybestos® Rookie. He has led ten times for 195 laps (288.44 miles). Bowyer has held the top spot four times in once for 104 laps (138.32 miles). No other Raybestos® Rookie has led a lap this season.

· Only two Raybestos® Rookies have started every Busch Series race this season: Kyle Busch and Paul Menard.

CALIFORNIA RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE TIDBITS

· Coy Gibbs was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race at the 2003 1-800-Pitstop.com 300 at California Speedway, Gibbs finished 13th, one of 16 cars to complete the entire 150-lap distance.

· Scott Riggs is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a Busch Series race at California Speedway. Riggs won the 2002 event by .991 second over Jeff Green.

· Riggs and Steve Park are the only Raybestos® Rookies to score top-five finishes at California Speedway. Park finished second in first-ever Busch Series race at the 2.0-mile speedway in 1997.

· A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-10 in three of the past four spring Busch races at California Speedway: Jay Sauter (tenth in 2000), Greg Biffle (sixth in 2001), and Scott Riggs (first in 2002).

· Greg Biffle is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in the seven Busch Series races at California. Biffle led six times for 90 laps in the 2001 race.

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 120
Paul Menard 77
Donnie Neuenberger 50
Clint Bowyer 35
J.J. Yeley 24
Stan Boyd 22
Billy Parker 18
Rick Markle 17
Travis Geisler 7
Brian Conz 1

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