Race 2 Win: Hershey's Kissables 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Hershey's Kissables 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

David Gilliland, Todd Kluever, Joel Kaufman, Chris Wimmer, A.J. Foyt IV, Danny O’Quinn, Burney Lamar, and Mark McFarland plan to compete for Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in 2006.

Reed Sorenson was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Hershey’s Kissables 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, grabbing a ninth-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Hershey’s Kissables 300 is fourth by Jay Sauter in 2000. Only two other Raybestos® Rookies have scored top-five finishes in the race:
2000: Kevin Harvick, fifth
2002: Shane Hmiel, fifth

DID YOU KNOW? Only TWO Raybestos® Rookies have won the pole for the spring race at Daytona since the program was created in 1989: Kenny Wallace (1989) and David Green (1991). Wallace’s pole run came in the first race in the history of the program.

DID YOU KNOW? Ron Hornaday holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Hershey’s Kissables 300. Hornaday led twice for 43 laps in the 2000 event.

DID YOU KNOW? Only three Raybestos® Rookies have scored top-five finishes in the spring race at Daytona since 1989:
2000: Jay Sauter, fourth
2000: Kevin Harvick, fifth
2002: Shane Hmiel, fifth

The record for the most Raybestos® Rookies to finish on the lead lap in the Hershey’s Kissables 300 is six in 2001. All six Raybestos® Rookie drivers entered in the race completed the full distance (120 laps, 300 miles).

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the spring race at Daytona:
1989: Kenny Wallace, 10th
1990: Joe Nemechek, eighth
1997: Steve Park, seventh
1998: Kevin Schwantz, eighth
1999: Adam Petty, ninth
2000: Jay Sauter, fourth
2000: Kevin Harvick, fifth
2001: Tim Sauter, 10th
2002: Shane Hmiel, fifth
2002: Scott Riggs, sixth
2005: Reed Sorenson, ninth
2005: Carl Edwards, 10th

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, 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.