Race 2 Win: Aaron's 312 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Busch Series

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Aaron's 312 - 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 April 22 Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Edwards finished eighth and was the only first-year driver to finish inside the top 10. Edwards leads the Raybestos® Rookie of the Year standings by 21 points (142-121) and the Busch Series championship standings by 156 over Reed Sorenson entering the April 30 Aaron’s 312 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Edwards has finished in the top 10 finish in all nine Busch Series races this season.

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

Raybestos Rookies at Talladega:

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in each of the last FIVE Aaron’s 312 races at Talladega: Mike Borkowski (10th in 2000), Greg Biffle (sixth in 2001), Casey Mears (fifth in 2002), Coy Gibbs (10th in 2003) and Kyle Busch (fourth in 2004).

The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie at Talladega is second by Steve Park in 1997.

Park and Busch are the only Raybestos® Rookies to score top-five finishes in 13 Busch Series races at Talladega.

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Talladega:
1993: Hermie Sadler, ninth
1997: Steve Park, second
1997: Tim Steele, sixth
1997: Matt Kenseth, seventh
1998: Matt Hutter, ninth
2000: Mike Borkowski, 10th
2001: Greg Biffle, sixth
2002: Casey Mears, fifth
2003: Coy Gibbs, 10th
2004: Kyle Busch, fourth

DID YOU KNOW? The most Raybestos® Rookies to finish inside the top 10 at Talladega is THREE in 1997: Park, Tim Steele (sixth) and Matt Kenseth (seventh).

Johnny Sauter (2002) and Clint Bowyer (2004) are the only Raybestos® Rookies to win poles in 13 Busch Series races at Talladega. Both Sauter and Bowyer won the first poles of their Busch Series career and both were driving cars prepared by Richard Childress Racing.

Season Tidbits

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

Sorenson’s 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.

The O’Reilly 300 April 16 at Texas Motor Speedway was the third race this season where THREE Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top 10: Sorenson (third), Edwards (seventh), and Jon Wood (eighth). The Pepsi 300 at Nashville and the Sharpie Professional 250 at Bristol (Tenn.) were the others.

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                               142
Reed Sorenson                              121
Denny Hamlin                                81
Jon Wood                                    70        
Michel Jourdain Jr.                         56 
Brent Sherman                               39 
Ryan Hemphill                               36
Kertus Davis                                33          
Paul Wolfe                                  21
Tyler Walker                                19 
Blake Feese                                 18
A.J. Fike                                   14
Boston Reid                                 13
Brandon Miller                              12
Kim Crosby                                   8   
Donnie Neuenberger                           2
Kevin Conway                                 2   
    
HIGHEST FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE

EVENT                          HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE
Hershey’s TAKE 5 300           Reed Sorenson, ninth
Stater Bros. 300               Reed Sorenson, fifth
Telcel/Motorola Mexico 200     Carl Edwards, third
Sam’s Town 300                 Reed Sorenson, sixth 
Aaron’s 312                    Carl Edwards, first
Pepsi 300                      Reed Sorenson, first
Sharpie Professional 250       Reed Sorenson, third
O’Reilly 300                   Reed Sorenson, third
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200       Carl Edwards, eighth

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