Race 2 Win: Dover 200 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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Dover 200 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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

Reed Sorenson was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the September 9 Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Sorenson finished seventh, his 15th top-10 finish in 28 starts this season. He has captured Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors 14 times, most of any freshman driver.

Sorenson trails Carl Edwards by just nine points (310-301) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the September 24 Dover 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

Sorenson is third in the Busch Series championship standings, 217 behind second-place Clint Bowyer and 286 behind leader Martin Truex Jr. He has a 50-point lead on fourth-place Edwards.

Sorenson became the first Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the September race at Richmond since Kevin Harvick led one lap in 2000. Sorenson led once for four laps and was the only first-year driver to lead in the race.

The 2005 Raybestos® Rookie class has racked up a total of six wins, the most since inception of the program in 1989.

THREE Raybestos® Rookies rank in the top 10 in Busch Series points: Sorenson, Edwards, and Denny Hamlin (sixth).

TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have ranked in the top 10 in the Busch Series championship standings after each of the 28 races this year.

Sorenson is one of just three Busch Series drivers to top $1 million in winnings this season. He has racked up $1,061,561 entering the Dover 200.

Edwards is the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a Busch Series race. He won the 2005 Ameriquest 300 at California Speedway (race No. 27). Edwards finished 1.71 seconds ahead of Greg Biffle.

Sorenson is the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position for a Busch Series race, starting first for the Aug. 6 Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park (race No. 23). Sorenson logged a lap of 110.943 mph to win the top starting spot.

Season Tidbits:

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

Edwards has more top fives (11) and top 10s (16) than any other Raybestos® Rookie this season.

A Raybestos® Rookie has led the most laps in FOUR races this season. Sorenson led the most laps at Gateway International Raceway in July and at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in March, while Edwards was dominant at Las Vegas and Kentucky.

Two or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top five on FIVE occasions: Wallace 250: Sorenson (first) and Edwards (third) New England 200: Edwards (second) and Denny Hamlin (third) Pepsi 300: Sorenson (first) and Edwards (fourth) O’Reilly 300: Sorenson (third) and Edwards (fourth) Meijer 300: Edwards (first) and Sorenson (fourth)

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

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

Four Raybestos® Rookies have started all 28 Busch Series races in 2005: Edwards, Sorenson, Hamlin and Wood.

Sorenson’s 14.417-second margin of victory at Nashville earlier this year is the largest ever by a Raybestos® Rookie 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® Rookies at Dover International Speedway:

Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2004 MBNA 200, claiming a 10th-place finish

DID YOU KNOW? Johnny Benson is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the fall race at Dover since the program was created in 1989. He scored his first career Busch Series win at Dover in September 1994 over Harry Gant.

DID YOU KNOW? Only once since 1989 have TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top five in the fall race at Dover. In 1997, Matt Kenseth placed third while Steve Park claimed a fifth-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to score a top five in the fall race at Dover is Biffle, who placed fifth in 2001.

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the fall Busch Series race at Dover is the late Adam Petty, who led 23 laps in 1999.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the fall race at Dover:
1994: Benson, first
1997: Kenseth, third
1997: Park, fifth
1998: Kevin Grubb, second
1999: Tony Raines, fourth
2001: Biffle, fifth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the fall race at Dover:
1990: Dave Mader III, ninth
1991: Jeff Gordon, eighth
1993: Joe Bessey, 10th
1994: Benson, first
1997: Kenseth, third
1997: Park, fifth
1998: Grubb, second
1998: Dave Blaney, sixth
1999: Raines, fourth
2001: Biffle, fifth
2002: Shane Hmiel, 10th
2004: Busch, ninth

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.

David Green was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a race, at Lanier, Ga., in 1991. Green captured the Nestle 200 by 1.58-seconds over Jeff Gordon, a fellow Raybestos® Rookie. A third Raybestos® Rookie, Todd Bodine, placed eighth in the race.

Dennis Setzer was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win TWO or more races in a season. In 1994, he won the Ford Credit 300 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and The Pantry 300 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Park was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win THREE or more races in a season. In 1997, he won the BellSouth Mobility/Opryland 300 at Nashville Speedway, the Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan Speedway and the Autolite Platinum 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

Kenny Wallace was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole in the Busch Series. Wallace grabbed the top starting spot for the 1989 Goody’s 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the first race in the history of the Raybestos® Rookie of the Year program.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Edwards 310
Sorenson 301 
Hamlin 220 
Wood 177
Brent Sherman 130
Michel Jourdain Jr. 118
Kertus Davis 118 
Tyler Walker 98
Ryan Hemphill 60 

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 
USG Durock 300 Edwards, fourth
New England 200 Edwards, second
ITT/Salute to the Troops 250 Sorenson, seventh
Wallace Family Tribute 250 Sorenson, first
Kroger 200 Sorenson, third
Zippo 200 Edwards, 11th 
Domino’s Pizza 250 Edwards, third
Food City 250 Sorenson, 11th 
Ameriquest 300 Edwards, first
Emerson Radio 250 Sorenson, seventh

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