Race 2 Win: New England 200 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Busch Series

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New England 200 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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

Carl Edwards was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the July 9 USG Durock 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. Edwards finished fourth, his seventh top-five and 12th top-10 finish of the season. He took top rookie honors for the sixth time in 2005.

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 one-point edge over Edwards in the Raybestos® Rookie standings (247-246) entering the July 16 New England 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Sorenson is third in the Busch Series championship standings, 106 points behind leader Martin Truex Jr. Edwards is fourth in points, 205 behind Truex.

THREE Raybestos® Rookies rank in the top 10 in Busch Series points: Sorenson, Edwards and Denny 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 19 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 19 Busch Series races in 2005: Edwards, Sorenson, Hamlin and Wood.

Raybestos® Rookies at New Hampshire:

Paul Menard was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2004 New England 200 at New Hampshire. Menard finished 18th on the lead lap.

Only two Raybestos® Rookies have scored top-five finishes at New Hampshire since the Busch Series began competing on the 1.058-mile speedway in 1990 (15 races):
1997: Steve Park, second
2002: Shane Hmiel, fourth

Park’s second-place finish in 1997 is the best ever by a Raybestos® Rookie at New Hampshire.

Hmiel is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position at New Hampshire, taking the top spot for the 2002 event.

DID YOU KNOW? TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top 10 just once at New Hampshire. In 2002, Shane Hmiel finished fourth while Scott Riggs finished ninth.

The most recent Raybestos® Rookies to lead a lap in a Busch race at New Hampshire are Hmiel (once for 11 laps) and Riggs (once for four laps) in 2002.

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: Greg Biffle’s 13.302-second margin of victory in the 2001 GNC Live Well 250 at The Milwaukee Mile.

Raybestos® Rookie Records

Kyle 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 247
Carl Edwards 246 
Denny Hamlin 179 
Jon Wood 143 
Michel Jourdain Jr. 110
Kertus Davis 86
Brent Sherman 78
Ryan Hemphill 59 
Tyler Walker 56 
Paul Wolfe 47
Brandon Miller 29 
Kim Crosby 26
A.J. Fike 23 
Boston Reid 22
Blake Feese 21 
Donnie Neuenberger 12 
Jerry Robertson 7 

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

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