Race 2 Win: Meijer 300 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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Meijer 300 - 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 June 12 Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. He finished third, his eighth top-five and 12th top-10 finish in 20 career Busch Series starts. He took Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the eighth time in 2005.

Sorenson leads Carl Edwards by eight points (208-200) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the June 18 Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Sorenson holds a 51-point edge over Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer in the Busch Series championship standings entering Saturday night’s race. This is the first time in Sorenson’s career that he has led the Busch Series standings.

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

Raybestos® Rookies Paul Wolfe (10th) and Ryan Hemphill (12th) scored their best career Busch Series finish at Nashville.

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

Sorenson, Denny Hamlin (seventh) and Wolfe all finished in the top-10 at Nashville. The Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville was the FIFTH race this season where THREE or more Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top 10. The Aaron’s 312 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Pepsi 300 at Nashville, Sharpie Professional 250 at Bristol (Tenn.), and the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) were the others.

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

Sorenson has more top-five finishes (seven) than any other Raybestos® Rookie.

Sorenson equaled the best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Federated Auto Parts 300 (June race) at Nashville (David Stremme placed third in 2003).

Sorenson led the Nashville race once for 13 laps and was the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the event.

One or more Raybestos® Rookies have now finished in the top-10 in all nine races at Nashville.

DID YOU KNOW? Two or more Raybestos® Rookies have ranked in the top 10 in Busch Series championship standings after each of the 15 races this year.

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

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 seven times in four races for 328.89 miles (245 laps).

Five Raybestos® Rookies have started all 15 Busch Series races this season: Edwards, Sorenson, Hamlin, Wood, and Michel Jourdain Jr.

Raybestos Rookies at Kentucky:

Kyle Busch won the 2004 Meijer 300 presented by Oreo at Kentucky Speedway. Busch led the race just once, covering the final three laps, and finished 1.274 seconds ahead of Greg Biffle.

DID YOU KNOW? Scott Riggs is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in four Busch Series races at Kentucky, taking the top starting position in 2002.

At least one Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top 10 in all four previous races at Kentucky Speedway:
2001: Greg Biffle (second) and Jamie McMurray (10th).
2002: Scott Riggs (fourth) and Kerry Earnhardt (seventh)
2003: David Stremme, 10th
2004: Kyle Busch, first

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Kentucky Speedway:
2001: Greg Biffle, second
2002: Scott Riggs, fourth
2004: Kyle Busch, first

Only TWO Raybestos® Rookies have led a lap in four races at Kentucky Speedway: Busch and Riggs. Riggs led the 2002 race four times for 91 laps, more than any other driver. He is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in a race at Kentucky Speedway.

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.

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).

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 208
Carl Edwards 200 
Denny Hamlin 153 
Jon Wood 124 
Michel Jourdain Jr. 97
Brent Sherman 70
Kertus Davis 69
Tyler Walker 48 
Ryan Hemphill 48 
Paul Wolfe 47
Boston Reid 22 
Blake Feese 19 
A.J. Fike 19
Brandon Miller 15 
Donnie Neuenberger 10
Kim Crosby 9 

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

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