Race 2 Win: Winn-Dixie 250 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Winn-Dixie 250 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Danny O’Quinn Jr. was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the June 24 AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee (West Allis, Wis.) Mile. O’Quinn Jr. finished seventh, his best effort in 17 career Busch Series races. He scored his second top-10 of the 2006 season and collected top rookie honors for the third time this season.

Burney Lamar continues to lead the Raybestos® Rookie standings, holding a 10-point edge over John Andretti (160-150) entering the June 30 Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

John Andretti is 13th in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. Andretti is 147 points behind 10th-place Johnny Sauter and holds a one-point edge over 14th-place Lamar.

Denny Hamlin was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona, grabbing a 14th-place finish.

Johnny Sauter owns the best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in four July races at Daytona. Sauter finished sixth in the 2002 event and is the only Raybestos® Rookie to post a top-10 finish in the race.

Raybestos® Rookies that have led a lap in the July race at Daytona:
2002: Johnny Sauter (once for one lap)
2005: Denny Hamlin (once for five laps)

The best qualifying effort by a Raybestos® Rookie for the July race at Daytona is seventh by Scott Riggs in 2002.

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 160
John Andretti 150
Todd Kluever 148
Danny O’Quinn Jr. 145 
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