Race 2 Win: Sam's Town 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Sam's Town 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Mark McFarland was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the March 5 telcel-MOTOROLA 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. McFarland finished 15th and took top rookie honors for the first time in 2006.

THREE RACES, THREE DIFFERENT FACES: Three different drivers (McFarland, Burney Lamar and Todd Kluever) have claimed Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors in each of the three races this season.

Lamar enjoys an eight-point lead (39-31) over Kluever in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the March 11 Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Lamar ranks sixth in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings, 21 points behind fifth-place Clint Bowyer and 88 behind leader Kevin Harvick. He is the only Raybestos® Rookie in the top 10 in the series standings. Lamar has ranked inside the top 10 after each of the first three races this season.

DID YOU KNOW? Carl Edwards is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position at Las Vegas. He grabbed the top starting spot for the 2005 Sam’s Town 300.

DID YOU KNOW? Edwards is also the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in a Busch Series race at Las Vegas, holding the top spot six times for 124 laps.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie at Las Vegas is second by Greg Biffle in 2001. Biffle finished 1.085 seconds behind race winner Todd Bodine.

The only other Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-five finish at Las Vegas is Scott Riggs, who placed fourth in the 2002 race.

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in Las Vegas: 1997: Steve Park, eighth 2000: Ron Hornaday, eighth 2001: Biffle, second 2002: Riggs, fourth 2005: Reed Sorenson, sixth 2005: Edwards, seventh

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.

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 39
Todd Kluever 31
Mark McFarland 25
John Andretti 24 
Danny O’Quinn 22
Anthony Foyt IV 18 
Tracy Hines 13 
Joel Kauffman 13
Chris Wimmer 3 
David Gilliland 1

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE
Hershey’s Kissables 300 Burney Lamar, second
Stater Bros. 300 Todd Kluever, 12th 
telcel-MOTOROLA 200 Mark McFarland, 15th