Race 2 Win: Carquest Auto Parts 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Carquest Auto Parts 300 - 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 12 Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Andretti finished 15th and took top rookie honors for the fourth time this season.

Burney Lamar leads Mark McFarland by 18 points (124-106) entering the May 27 CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s (Concord, N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Lamar is 11th in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings, 35 points behind 10th-place Johnny Sauter and 55 behind ninth-place Jason Leffler. He holds a one point edge over 12th-place Matt Kenseth and leads 13th-place Jon Wood by 11.

Reed Sorenson was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, grabbing a fifth-place finish.

Denny Hamlin was the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the race, holding the top spot once for four laps.

DID YOU KNOW? Kyle Busch won the 2004 CARQUEST 300 and is the only Raybestos® Rookie driver to win the spring Busch Series race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway since the rookie program was created in 1989. The previous best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie was third by Scott Riggs in May 2001. Busch led the most laps (three times for 93).

Busch and Greg Biffle (2001) are the only Raybestos® Rookies to lead the most laps in the spring Busch race at Charlotte. Biffle holds the record for most laps led in the spring Busch Series race at Charlotte. He led the 2001 race three times for 154 of the 200 laps on his way to a sixth place finish.

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 124
John Andretti 106
Mark McFarland 105
Todd Kluever 101 
Danny O’Quinn Jr. 97
Joel Kauffman 54 
Tracy Hines 50 
A.J. Foyt IV 39
David Gilliland 22
Jorge Goeters 16
Kevin Conway 15
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