Race 2 Win: USG Durock 300 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Busch Series

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USG Durock 300 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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

Denny Hamlin was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the July 1 Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Hamlin finished 14th and took top rookie honors for the second consecutive race and for the third time this season.

DID YOU KNOW? The 2005 Raybestos® Rookie class has FOUR victories this season. The record for most victories by a rookie class is FIVE (2001 and 2004).

Reed Sorenson holds a nine-point edge over Carl Edwards in the Raybestos® Rookie standings (241-232) entering the July 9 USG DUROCK 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. Sorenson is third in the Busch Series championship standings, 94 points behind leader Martin Truex Jr. Edwards is fourth in points, 214 behind Truex.

THREE Raybestos® Rookies rank in the top 10 in Busch Series points: Sorenson, Edwards, and Hamlin, who is sixth in the standings.

THREE or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top 10 in six races this season.

DID YOU KNOW? Two or more Raybestos® Rookies have ranked in the top 10 in Busch Series championship standings after each of the 18 races this year.

Edwards, Sorenson and Jon Wood are the only Raybestos® Rookies to score a top-five finish this season.

Five Raybestos® Rookies have started all 18 Busch Series races this season: Edwards, Sorenson, Hamlin, Wood, and Michel Jourdain Jr.

Raybestos® Rookies at Chicagoland:

J.J. Yeley was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2004 Tropicana Twister 300. Yeley scored a ninth-place finish after leading the race twice for 25 laps.

Kyle Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in four races at Chicagoland. Busch led three times for 49 laps on his way to a 12th-place finish in 2004.

Johnny Sauter is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a race at Chicagoland Speedway. He won won the 2002 race, taking the checkered flag by .420 seconds ahead of Todd Bodine.

The best starting position by a Raybestos® Rookie at Chicagoland is second, shared by Scott Riggs (2002) and Busch (2004).

Raybestos® Rookies who have led a lap at Chicagoland Speedway:
2001: Greg Biffle (once for 18 laps)
2002: Sauter (once for 21 laps)
2002: Riggs (once for four laps)
2004: Busch (three times for 49 laps)
2004: Yeley (twice for 25 laps)

Season Tidbits

This is the first season since 2002 that two or more Raybestos® Rookies have won in the same season.

Sorenson’s 14.417-second margin of victory at Nashville is the largest ever by a Raybestos® Rookie driver in the Busch Series. The previous record: Biffle’s 13.302-second margin of victory in the 2001 GNC Live Well 250 at The Milwaukee Mile.

Raybestos® Rookie Records

Busch was the 2004 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. In 34 starts, he won five races, five poles and scored 16 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes. His second-place finish in the Busch Series championship standings is a record for a Raybestos® Rookie. Other Raybestos® Rookie records Busch owns or shares: most starts (34), most wins (tied with Biffle), most top fives (tied with Biffle), most top 10s, most money won ($2,027,050), most championship points (4,943), most laps led (1,108) and most races led (21).

David Stremme holds the record for fewest starts by a driver to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. In 2003, Stremme started just 18 of the 34 races and 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.

Hermie Sadler was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a race, at Rougemont N.C., in 1993.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Reed Sorenson 241
Carl Edwards 232 
Denny Hamlin 177 
Jon Wood 141 
Michel Jourdain Jr. 109
Kertus Davis 85
Brent Sherman 70
Ryan Hemphill 59 
Tyler Walker 56 
Paul Wolfe 47
Brandon Miller 29 
Kim Crosby 25
A.J. Fike 23 
Boston Reid 22
Blake Feese 21 
Donnie Neuenberger 12 
Jerry Robertson 0 

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE
Hershey’s TAKE 5 300 Sorenson, ninth
Stater Bros. 300 Sorenson, fifth
Telcel/Motorola Mexico 200 Edwards, third
Sam’s Town 300 Sorenson, sixth 
Aaron’s 312 Edwards, first
Pepsi 300 Sorenson, first
Sharpie Professional 250 Sorenson, third
O’Reilly 300 Sorenson, third
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Edwards, eighth
Aaron’s 312 Wood, second
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Hamlin, seventh
Funai 250 Edwards, first
CARQUEST 300 Sorenson, fifth
MBNA RacePoints 200 Sorenson, second
Federated Auto Parts 300 Sorenson, third
Meijer 300 Edwards, first
SBC 250 Hamlin, sixth
Winn-Dixie 250 Hamlin, 14th

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