Race 2 Win: USG Durock 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

USG Durock 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

John Andretti was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the June 30 Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Andretti finished 10th, his second top-10 finish of the 2006 season. Andretti and Johnny Sauter are the only Raybestos® Rookies to log top-10 finishes in the summer Busch Series race at Daytona. Sauter finished sixth in the 2002 event.

Burney Lamar leads the Raybestos® Rookie standings by eight points (165-157) over Andretti (165-157) entering the July 8 USG Durock 300 at Chicagoland (Joliet, Ill.) Speedway.

Andretti is 12th in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is three points behind 11th-place Jason Leffler and trails 10th-place Johnny Sauter by 113. Andretti leads 13th-place Ashton Lewis Jr. by 29 and 14th-place Burney Lamar by 38.

DID YOU KNOW? Todd Kluever has led more miles (22.66) and more laps (17) than any other Raybestos® Rookie in the Busch Series this season.

Carl Edwards was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 USG Durock 300 at Chicagoland. Edwards posted a fourth-place finish in the race and was the only first-year driver to finish inside the top-five.

Only once in five Busch Series races at Chicagoland Speedway have TWO Raybestos® Rookies finished inside the top-10. In 2005, Edwards finished fourth while Reed Sorenson logged a 10th-place finish. Sorenson was the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the event, holding the top spot twice for 30 laps.

Kyle Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in five races at Chicagoland. Busch led three times for 49 laps on his way to a 12th-place finish in 2004.

DID YOU KNOW? Johnny Sauter is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win in five previous races at Chicagoland Speedway. Sauter won the 2002 race, taking the checkered flag .420 seconds ahead of Todd Bodine.

DID YOU KNOW? The best starting position by a Raybestos® Rookie at Chicagoland is second, shared by Scott Riggs (2002) and Kyle Busch (2004).

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Chicagoland: 2002: Johnny Sauter, first 2005: Carl Edwards, fourth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Chicagoland: 2002: Johnny Sauter, first 2004: J.J. Yeley, ninth 2005: Carl Edwards, fourth 2005: Reed Sorenson, 10th

Raybestos® Rookies who have led a lap at Chicagoland Speedway: 2001: Greg Biffle (once for 18 laps) 2002: Johnny Sauter (once for 21 laps) 2002: Scott Riggs (once for four laps) 2004: Kyle Busch (three times for 49 laps) 2004: J.J. Yeley (twice for 25 laps) 2005: Reed Sorenson (twice for 30 laps)

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

Kyle Busch posted a record-setting year on his way to the 2004 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title. In 34 starts, Busch won five times, captured 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, 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
Burney Lamar 165
John Andretti 157
Todd Kluever 152
Danny O’Quinn Jr. 147 
Mark McFarland 136
Joel Kauffman 68 
Tracy Hines 50
David Gilliland 44 
A.J. Foyt IV 39 
Jorge Goeters 16
Kevin Conway 16
Chris Wimmer 14 

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
Hershey’s Kissables 300 Lamar, second
Stater Bros. 300 Kluever, 12th 
telcel-MOTOROLA 200 McFarland, 15th 
Sam’s Town 300 Kluever, 21st 
Nicorette 300 Lamar, eighth
Sharpie Mini 300 Andretti, ninth
O’Reilly 300 Andretti, 19th 
Pepsi 300 Lamar, seventh
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 O’Quinn Jr., 14th 
Aaron’s 312 McFarland, seventh
Circuit City 250 Andretti, 19th 
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Andretti, 15th 
CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 Kluever, ninth
Stonebridgeracing.com 200 Kluever, 18th 
Federated Auto Parts 300 O’Quinn Jr., 10th 
Meijer 300 Gilliland, FIRST
AT&T 250 O’Quinn Jr., seventh
Winn-Dixie 250 Andretti, 10th