Race 2 Win: Diamond Hill Plywood 200 - Circuit City 250 Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Diamond Hill Plywood 200 - 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 May 5 Circuit 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Andretti finished 19th and took top rookie honors for the third time this season.

Burney Lamar leads Mark McFarland by 20 points (115-95) entering the May 12 Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

Lamar is 12th in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings, four points behind 11th-place Jason Leffler and 53 behind 10th-place Jon Wood. He holds a 21-point edge over 13th-place Reed Sorenson and leads 14th-place Kenny Wallace by 40.

DID YOU KNOW? Kyle Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole at Darlington since the program was created in 1989. Busch won the pole for the 2004 Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington.

DID YOU KNOW? Busch is also the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap at Darlington. He held the top spot once for 12 laps in the November 2004 Bi-Lo 200.

Denny Hamlin was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Diamond Hill Plywood 200, scoring a seventh-place finish.

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Darlington (since the program was created in 1989):
1990: Dave Mader III, eighth (fall race)
1991: Jeff Gordon, ninth (spring race)
1991: Todd Bodine, fifth (spring race)
1991: Bodine, third (fall race)
1994: Johnny Benson, fourth (fall race)
1994: Dennis Setzer, 10th (fall race)
2000: Ron Hornaday, eighth (spring race)
2000: Kevin Harvick, 10th (fall race)
2002: Scott Riggs, 10th (fall race)
2005: Denny Hamlin, seventh (spring race)

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Darlington (since the program was created in 1989):
1991: Todd Bodine, fifth (spring race)
1991: Bodine, third (fall race)
1994: Johnny Benson, fourth (fall race)

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

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 115
Mark McFarland 95
John Andretti 95
Todd Kluever 94 
Danny O’Quinn Jr. 92
Tracy Hines 50 
Joel Kauffman 48 
A.J. Foyt IV 39
David Gilliland 22
Jorge Goeters 16
Chris Wimmer 14
Kevin Conway 7 

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