Race 2 Win: Arizona 200 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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Arizona 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 November 5 O’Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway, grabbing a third-place finish. Edwards claimed his 14th top-five and 20th top-10 this season and took top rookie honors for the 13th time in 2005.

Raybestos® Rookie Reed Sorenson finished fourth, giving the rookie class two members to finish inside the top five. The Texas race marked the SIXTH event this season where two or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top five. The others: 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)

Edwards continues to lead the chase for Raybestos® Rookie of the Year, holding a four-point advantage over Reed Sorenson (325-321) entering the Nov. 12 Busch 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.

The battle for 2005 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year remains the closest in the history of the program. The closest point finish in the history of the Busch Series Raybestos® Rookie of the Year program came in 2000 when Kevin Harvick edged Ron Hornaday by just 20 points (334-314) to win the award.

Edwards moved up to third in the Busch Series championship standings, 336 behind leader Martin Truex Jr. and 252 behind second-place Clint Bowyer. He holds a 58-point advantage over fourth-place Sorenson and 299 over fifth-place Hamlin.

A MILESTONE: The 2005 season marks the first time in the history of the Raybestos® Rookie program where TWO first-year drivers surpassed $1 million in earnings: Sorenson ($1,243,466) and Hamlin ($1,008,170). Fellow Raybestos® Rookie Edwards needs to collect just $4,815 to join the exclusive club. Only three other Raybestos® Rookies have surpassed $1 million in single-season earnings since the program was created in 1989: Kyle Busch ($2,027,050), Greg Biffle ($1,623,546) and Scott Riggs ($1,170,846).

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

Entering Saturday’s race at Phoenix, Edwards has more top fives (14) and more top 10s (20) than any other Raybestos® Rookie.

For the seventh time this season, THREE Raybestos® Rookies rank among the top five in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings.

DID YOU KNOW? Only once in the history of the Raybestos® Rookie program have two Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top five in the final Busch Series championship standings. In 2000, Harvick placed third ahead of Hornaday, who finished fifth. Three or more Raybestos® Rookies have never finished inside the top-five. Three Raybestos Rookies have never finished in the top-five in points in the history of the program.

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

TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have ranked in the top 10 in the Busch Series championship standings after each of the 33 races this year.

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 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.

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.

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

Four Raybestos® Rookies have started all 33 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 Phoenix International Raceway:

Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2004 Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix. Busch finished second, the only first-year driver to place inside the top 10.

Carl Edwards was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix in April (race No. 9). Edwards finished eighth after leading the event once for four laps.

Greg Biffle is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a Busch Series event in six previous races at Phoenix. He edged Jeff Green and Harvick to win the 2001 race, an event that ended under caution.

DID YOU KNOW? Biffle and Kyle Busch are the only Raybestos® Rookies to lead the most laps in a Busch Series race at Phoenix. Biffle led twice for 112 of the 200 laps in 2001 while Busch led four times for 151 laps in 2004.

DID YOU KNOW? Two Raybestos® Rookies have won poles for the fall race at Phoenix: Kyle Busch (2004) and Jason Leffler (2000).

DID YOU KNOW? Only once in the six previous fall races have TWO Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top-five at Phoenix. In 2000, Leffler placed second while Hornaday grabbed a fifth place finish.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in fall race at Phoenix:
2000: Jason Leffler, second
2000: Ron Hornaday, fifth
2001: Greg Biffle, first
2004: Kyle Busch, second

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in fall race Phoenix:
2000: Jason Leffler, second
2000: Ron Hornaday, fifth
2001: Greg Biffle, first
2001: Scott Wimmer, seventh
2002: Johnny Sauter, seventh
2002: Kerry Earnhardt, 10th
2004: Kyle Busch, second

Raybestos Rookies to lead a lap in the fall race at Phoenix:
2000: Jason Leffler (three times for 43 laps)
2000: Ron Hornaday (led once for four laps)
2001: Greg Biffle (twice for 112 laps)
2003: David Stremme (once for one lap)
2004: Kyle Busch (four times for 151 laps)

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, he 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.

Steve 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
Carl Edwards 325
Reed Sorenson 321 
Denny Hamlin 230 
Jon Wood 200
Brent Sherman 145 
Kertus Davis 133 
Michel Jourdain Jr. 122 
Tyler Walker 98
Ryan Hemphill 61

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
Dover 200 Sorenson, fourth
United Way 300 Wood, fifth
Dollar General 300 Edwards, fourth
Sam’s Town 250 Edwards, fifth
O’Reilly Challenge Edwards, third

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