Race 2 Win: Dover 200 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Dover 200 - 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 September 8 Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, posting a 14th-place finish. O’Quinn Jr. took Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the sixth time this season.

John Andretti leads Burney Lamar by five points (193-188) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the September 23 Dover 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

Andretti is 13th in the Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is 11 points behind 12th-place Kenny Wallace and 141 ahead of 14th-place Jon Wood.

Andretti runs with Raybestos® Brakes on his No. 10 Ford.

Todd Kluever was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the June 3 stonebridgeracing.com 200 at Dover, logging an 18th-place finish.

Reed Sorenson was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Dover 200, scoring a fourth-place finish. Sorenson became the first freshman driver to score a top-five in the fall race at Dover since Greg Biffle finished fifth in 2001.

DID YOU KNOW? THREE Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top-10 in the 2005 Dover 200, the most freshman drivers to finish in the top-10 in a Busch Series race at Dover since the program was created in 1989 (35 previous races): Sorenson, Denny Hamlin (sixth) and Carl Edwards (ninth).

DID YOU KNOW? Johnny Benson is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the fall race at Dover. Benson scored his first career Busch Series win at Dover in September 1994 over Harry Gant.

DID YOU KNOW? At least one Raybestos® Rookie has finished inside the top-10 in the last TWO consecutive fall races at Dover and in three of the last four.

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the fall race at Dover is Adam Petty in 1999, who led 23 laps.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the fall race at Dover:
1994: Johnny Benson, first
1997: Matt Kenseth, third
1997: Steve Park, fifth
1998: Kevin Grubb, second
1999: Tony Raines, fourth
2001: Greg Biffle, fifth
2005: Reed Sorenson, fourth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the fall race at Dover:
1990: Dave Mader III, ninth
1991: Jeff Gordon, eighth
1993: Joe Bessey, 10th
1994: Benson, first
1997: Kenseth, third
1997: Park, fifth
1998: Grubb, second
1998: Dave Blaney, sixth
1999: Raines, fourth
2001: Biffle, fifth
2002: Shane Hmiel, 10th
2004: Kyle Busch, ninth
2005: Sorenson, fourth
2005: Denny Hamlin, sixth
2005: Carl Edwards, ninth

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 (Tenn.) Speedway, the Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan International 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
John Andretti 193
Burney Lamar 188
Danny O’Quinn Jr. 181
Todd Kluever 177 
Mark McFarland 152
David Gilliland 73
Tracy Hines 71 
Joel Kauffman 68 
A.J. Foyt IV 39
Stephen Leicht 33
Jorge Goeters 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 
USG Durock 300 Kluever, 18th 
New England 200 McFarland, 11th 
Goody’s 250 Andretti, seventh
Busch Silver Celebration 250 Lamar, 12th 
Kroger 200 O’Quinn Jr., sixth
Zippo 200 Andretti, fifth
CARFAX 250 O’Quinn Jr., 20th 
Food City 250 Andretti, 14th 
Ameriquest 300 Lamar, 14th 
Emerson Radio 250 O’Quinn Jr., 14th