Race 2 Win: Kroger 200 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Busch Series

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Kroger 200 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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

Raybestos® Rookie Reed Sorenson scored his second career Busch Series win by capturing the July 30 Wallace Family Tribute 250 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. Sorenson took the checkered flag .710 seconds ahead of second-place Mike Wallace and racked up his ninth top-five and 13th top-10 finish of the season. Sorenson led twice for 60 laps, the most of any driver, and took top rookie honors for the 11th time in 2005.

Sorenson and Carl Edwards are tied for the lead with 283 points in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the August 6 Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Claremont, Ind. This is the first tie for the lead in the standings since the program debuted in 1989.

Sorenson is third in the Busch Series championship standings, 84 points behind leader Martin Truex Jr. and 14 behind second-place Clint Bowyer. Edwards is fourth, 244 behind Truex.

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

Sorenson’s victory gives the 2005 Raybestos® Rookie class a total of five wins, equaling the most by a rookie class since inception of the program in 1989. The class of 2001 and 2004 also posted five victories.

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

DID YOU KNOW? At least one Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top 10 in 21 of the 22 Busch Series races this season.

DID YOU KNOW? Sorenson and Edwards have both finished in the top five FOUR times this season while 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 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 22 races this year.

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

Four Raybestos® Rookies have started all 22 Busch Series races in 2005: Edwards, Sorenson, Hamlin and Wood.

Raybestos® Rookies at Indianapolis Raceway Park:

Raybestos® Rookie Kyle Busch won the 2004 Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Busch led just once, covering the final 44 laps and took the checkered flag by .896 seconds ahead of second-place Johnny Sauter.

Busch and Ron Hornaday (2000) are the only Raybestos® Rookies to win at IRP in 23 previous races.

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top five in three of the past four races at IRP: Busch, Sauter (fourth in 2002) and Greg Biffle (second in 2001).

Only twice since the Busch Series began competing at IRP has a Raybestos® Rookie led the most laps in the Kroger 200. Biffle led 107, the most ever by a first-year driver, in 2001 while Scott Riggs held the top spot for 94 laps in 2002.

The most Raybestos® Rookies to finish inside the top 10 at IRP is three in 2000: Ron Hornaday (first), Jason Leffler (fourth) and Kevin Harvick (eighth).

Season Tidbits:

Sorenson’s 14.417-second margin of victory at Nashville earlier this year 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
Carl Edwards 283
Reed Sorenson 283 
Denny Hamlin 203 
Jon Wood 156 
Michel Jourdain Jr. 115
Brent Sherman 104
Kertus Davis 101 
Tyler Walker 91
Ryan Hemphill 62 

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

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