Race 2 Win: Ford 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Ford 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Todd Kluever was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the November 11 Arizona Travel 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Kluever scored an 18th-place finish and took Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the eighth time in 2006.

John Andretti and Danny O’Quinn Jr. remain tied for the lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings (199-199) entering the Nov. 18 Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.)

Andretti is 13th in the Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is one point behind 12th-place Jason Leffler and leads 14th-place Ashton Lewis Jr. by 174.

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

Jon Wood was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Ford 300, grabbing a sixth-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos Rookie in the Ford 300 is third by Kyle Busch (2004) and Greg Biffle (2001).

DID YOU KNOW? Casey Atwood is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position at Homestead. Atwood claimed the top starting spot for the 1998 Jiffy Lube 300.

DID YOU KNOW? Only once in 11 previous Busch Series races at Homestead have TWO Raybestos® Rookie finished in the top-five. In 2001, Biffle place third just ahead of fellow Raybestos® Rookie Scott Wimmer, who grabbed a fourth place finish.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Homestead:
1999: Hank Parker Jr., fourth
2001: Greg Biffle, third
2001: Scott Wimmer, fourth
2004: Kyle Busch, third

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Homestead:
1995: Jeff Fuller, eighth
1995: Curtis Markham, 10th
1997: Matt Kenseth, sixth
1998: Dave Blaney, sixth
1999: Hank Parker Jr., fourth
2000: Jimmie Johnson, sixth
2001: Greg Biffle, third
2001: Scott Wimmer, fourth
2004: Kyle Busch, third
2005: Jon Wood, sixth

Raybestos® Rookies to lead a lap at Homestead:
1997: Steve Park (once for nine laps)
1999: Hank Parker, Jr. (led 32 laps)
2001: Scott Wimmer (once for 11 laps)
2004: Kyle Busch (once for three 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, 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 (Tenn.) Speedway, the Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan International Speedway and the Autolite Platinum 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

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 199
Danny O’Quinn Jr. 199
Todd Kluever 191
Burney Lamar 190 
Mark McFarland 152
Stephen Leicht 90
David Gilliland 73 
Tracy Hines 71 
Joel Kauffman 68 
A.J. Foyt IV 39
Chris Wimmer 21 

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 
Dover 200 Kluever, 13th 
Yellow Transportation 300 Leicht, 12th 
Dollar General 300 O’Quinn Jr., fifth
Sam’s Town 250 O’Quinn Jr., ninth
O’Reilly Challenge Kluever, 10th 
Arizona Travel 200 Kluever, 18th