MBNA RacePoints 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 May 28 CARQUEST 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (Concord, N.C.). Sorenson finished fifth, his fifth top-five and seventh top-10 finish in 13 races this season. He took top rookie honors for the seventh time this season.

Sorenson chopped 12 points off Carl Edwards’ lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings. Edwards leads Sorenson by 24 points (193-169) entering the MBNA RacePoints 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

Sorenson is third in the Busch Series championship standings, just three points behind second-place Clint Bowyer and 174 behind leader Edwards.

STREAK STAYS ALIVE: A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top 10 in every Busch Series race 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 13 races this year.

DID YOU KNOW? Sorenson has racked up more earnings ($500,637) than any other Busch Series driver this season. He and Martin Truex Jr. ($593,903) are the only Busch Series drivers to earn more than $500,000 this season.

DID YOU KNOW? Four different drivers have claimed Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors in the last four races.

Denny Hamlin was the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the CARQUEST 300, holding the top spot once for four laps.

The 2005 Raybestos® Rookie class has three victories this season in the Busch Series. The record for most victories by a rookie class is FIVE (2001 and 2004).

Entering the MBNA RacePoints 200, THREE Raybestos® Rookies rank inside the top 10 in Busch Series points: Edwards, Sorenson, and Hamlin (ninth).

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

Sorenson has led more miles than any other Raybestos® Rookie in 2005. He has led five times in two races for 304.60 miles (225 laps).

Edwards and Sorenson are tied for most top-five finishes by a Raybestos® Rookie this season. Edwards has more top 10s (10) than any other Busch Series driver.

Five Raybestos® Rookies have started all 13 Busch Series races this season: Edwards, Sorenson, Hamlin, Wood, and Michel Jourdain Jr.

Raybestos Rookies at Dover:

Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2004 MBNA RacePoints 200 at Dover. Busch finished fifth, one of 16 top-five finishes he claimed during the season, and was the only first-year driver to finish in the top 20.

DID YOU KNOW? Since the Raybestos® Rookie program was created in 1989, only three drivers have finished in the top five in the spring race at Dover. Busch, Jeff Gordon, and Steve Park. Gordon finished second in 1991, the best finish ever by a Raybestos® Rookie in the spring event at the one-mile Delaware speedway. Park placed fifth in 1997 and is the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to score a top five in the spring race.

Kevin Harvick is the only Raybestos® Rookie since 1989 to win the pole for the spring race at Dover. Harvick claimed the top starting spot for the 2000 MBNA America 200. He finished sixth, the only Raybestos® Rookie to finish inside the top 10.

Harvick is also the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in the spring race at Dover. He led the 2000 race twice for 97 of the 200 laps.

TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top 10 only once in the spring race at Dover. In 2001, Scott Wimmer placed seventh while Greg Biffle claimed a ninth-place finish. Biffle is the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to finish inside the top-10 in the spring race at Dover.

Season Tidbits

This is the first time 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.

The Aaron’s 312 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway was the FOURTH race this season where THREE Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top 10: Wood (second), Brent Sherman (ninth), and Kertus Davis (10th). The Pepsi 300 at Nashville, Sharpie Professional 250 at Bristol (Tenn.), and the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) were the others.

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
Carl Edwards 193
Reed Sorenson 169
Denny Hamlin 130 
Jon Wood 115 
Michel Jourdain Jr. 91
Brent Sherman 70
Kertus Davis 58 
Ryan Hemphill 40 
Tyler Walker 39
Paul Wolfe 27 
Blake Feese 19
Boston Reid 15
A.J. Fike 14
Brandon Miller 13
Kevin Conway 11 
Kim Crosby 9 
Donnie Neuenberger 4 

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