Bi-Lo 200 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER ADVANCE MATERIAL FOR THE NOVEMBER 13 BI-LO 200 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES RACE AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY.

Reed Sorenson will run the full Busch Series schedule in 2005 for car owner Chip Ganassi. He will compete in the final two Busch Series races of the 2004 season at Darlington and Homestead.

REED SORENSON, No. 41 DISCOUNT TIRE DODGE: THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU. "I got to run some races this year and I'm just trying to get ready for next year. I think we've got a good enough team that we can go there and give it a shot for Raybestos Rookie of the Year. I'm not sure who else is running for it but I guess we'll find out over the winter. I'm sure it will be pretty exciting." HOW SPECIAL WAS IT TO RUN SO WELL AT ATLANTA? "It was a lot of fun. We had a lot of hometown fans and family there so it was pretty neat to actually go out there and be really competitive like we were." HOW DID YOU GET TO THIS POINT? YOU ARE STILL A REALLY YOUNG GUY. "Well, I've been racing since I was six, so I've been working on it for a while. We ran ASA the past couple of years and got rookie of the year last year and then did pretty good last year. I've been pretty much racing every year of my life since I was six years old. I'm just trying to do good and go out and learn as much as I can." DO YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN A RACE NEXT YEAR? "I hope so. I thought we had a good shot at winning at Atlanta this year. Our plan next year is just to go out there and do the best we can. We want to win Raybestos Rookie of the Year and do good, hopefully top-five in points, and try to win two or three races or however many we can win, but I think we can definitely win one." HOW STEEP DO YOU THINK THE LEARNING CURVE IS GOING TO BE? "I think once we get about halfway through the season hopefully I'll start getting a really good feeling for the car and I'll be better off. We're going to a lot of tracks that I haven't been to before and I'm still trying to get used to the cars at the same time. I'm sure that we'll have some tracks that we may have try to forget about 'em [laughs]. We're just going to try to get better next year. Next year is a learning curve for me because hopefully I'll be running these tracks for years to come. We're just going to try to do the best we can at each track and then the next year will be even better." IS THE PLAN TO DO A LOT OF TESTING THIS WINTER AND THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON NEXT YEAR? "I think over the winter we're going to try to do some road course stuff because we've got those two road course races next year. We really want to be able to gain some points there. I think over the winter we're going to try to do that and once we start into January I think we're going to test at California and come out to Phoenix and test, too. At least I've got Atlanta under my belt now and IRP and we'll have Darlington and Homestead so I want have to test there. I'm sure we'll come up with a good test schedule where we can have a variety of tracks that we test at." HOW INTIMIDATING IS IT TO GO TO DARLINGTON? "We tested there on Monday [November 1] and that was my first time seeing the place and it was something. When I went into the place I knew that it was going to be fun. We had a good time testing there. The car looked like it had been through a race there already after we got done testing. It was all beat up on the right side and it was missing a rear bumper and all kinds of other good stuff. We got all that out of the way so when we go there this weekend we can keep it decent looking. But I was talking to a couple of guys on the team and they said every time they've taken somebody there for the first time they always smack the wall. I think that place is one of those places where you've got to take it to the edge and find out where it is and go ahead and get there and then back off a little bit. After running Memphis on a short track and watching those guys beat and bang, I'm sure that it will be an interesting race because getting down toward the end of the season these guys are getting kind of anxious. People like us are trying to get the best finish we can." HOW MANY TRACKS ARE YOU GOING TO GO TO NEXT SEASON THAT YOU'VE NEVER EVEN SEEN BEFORE? "I'll have to look at the schedule but it's a lot. I've probably only been to a handful of 'em, maybe only four or five, like Atlanta, IRP, Michigan and then Darlington and Homestead. All the road course stuff will be new and everything else will be pretty new also but the short track stuff, if you can run good at most of the short track stuff, you're usually okay because that's where I came from. I don't think the short track stuff will be too much of problem. Just going to weird places like Phoenix and tracks that have a little bit different characteristics than other tracks and we're not used to that. I'm sure it won't be too big of a deal." YOU HAVE SEVERAL TEAMMATES THAT YOU CAN LEAN ON FOR INFORMATION. "Usually when we go test we get with one of our Cup teams and go test with them at the same time. They'll be a big help and they always answer all the questions that we have. It will be good to lean on them for some answers."

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

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER              POINTS
Kyle Busch   340
Clint Bowyer   191
Paul Menard     186
J.J. Yeley   181  
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, 10th 
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
Food City 250 Kyle Busch, third
Target House 300 Kyle Busch, ninth
Emerson Radio 250 Kyle Busch, fifth
Stacker 200 Kyle Busch, ninth
Mr. Goodcents 300 J.J. Yeley, sixth
SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300 Kyle Busch, fifth
Sam's Town 250 Clint Bowyer, fourth
Aaron's 312 Kyle Busch, second
Bashas' Supermarkets 200 Kyle Busch, second