Race 2 Win: Emerson Radio 250 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Busch Series

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Emerson Radio 250 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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

Raybestos® Rookie Carl Edwards won the September 3 Ameriquest 300 at California Speedway. Edwards scored his fourth win of the 2005 season by 1.710 seconds over Greg Biffle. He climbed to third in the Busch Series championship standings, 358 points behind leader Martin Truex Jr. and 216 behind second place Clint Bowyer.

The 2005 Raybestos® Rookie class has racked up a total of six wins, the most by a rookie class since inception of the program in 1989.

Carl Edwards leads Sorenson by 14 points (309-295) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the September 9 Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

For the first time in the history of the program, THREE Raybestos® Rookies rank in the top-five in Busch Series points: Edwards, Sorenson (fourth), and Denny Hamlin (fifth).

TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have ranked in the top 10 in the Busch Series championship standings after each of the 27 races this year.

With his 12th-place finish at California, Reed Sorenson became the third driver to top $1 million in winnings this season. He has racked up $1,028,926 entering the Emerson Radio 250.

The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position for a Busch Series race is Reed Sorenson, who won the pole for the 2005 Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park (race number 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 season.

Edwards has more top-fives (11) and top-10s (16) than any other Raybestos® Rookie this season.

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.

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 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 27 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 27 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 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® Rookies at Richmond International Raceway:

Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2004 Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond. Busch finished fifth, the only first-year driver to log a top-10 finish.

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie driver to lead a lap in the fall race at Richmond is Kevin Harvick, who led once for one lap in the 2000 event.

DID YOU KNOW? Only TWO Raybestos® Rookies have won the September race at Richmond: Bobby Hamilton edged Tommy Ellis by two car lengths in 1989 while Steve Park crossed the finish line 1.432 seconds ahead of Randy LaJoie in 1997.

DID YOU KNOW? Andy Santerre is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole for the Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond (16 races).

DID YOU KNOW? Only once in the past 16 races have TWO Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top-five at the fall race in Richmond. In 1989 Bobby Hamilton won while Kenny Wallace finished third.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Emerson Radio 250:
1989: Bobby Hamilton, first
1989: Kenny Wallace, third
1993: Hermie Sadler, third
1997: Steve Park, first
2004: Busch, fifth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at the Emerson Radio 250:
1989: Hamilton, first
1989: Wallace, third
1993: Sadler, third
1993: Joe Bessey, eighth
1994: Johnny Benson, sixth
1997: Park, first
1998: Santerre, 10th
2004: Busch, fifth

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.

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, Setzer won the Ford Credit 300 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and The Pantry 300 at Hickory Motor Speedway.

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, 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 in 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 309
Reed Sorenson 295 
Denny Hamlin 219 
Jon Wood 173
Brent Sherman 129
Michel Jourdain Jr. 118
Kertus Davis 117 
Tyler Walker 98
Ryan Hemphill 60 

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

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