Race 2 Win: AT&T 250 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

AT&T 250 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Raybestos® Rookie David Gilliland won the June 17 Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Gilliland scored his first victory in seven career Busch Series starts and is the first Busch Series regular to win in 2006. His previous best finish was 29th earlier this season at Texas Motor Speedway (race number seven). Gilliland was the only first-year driver to finish inside the top-10.

Gilliland victory is the second consecutive by a Raybestos® Rookie at Kentucky. Carl Edwards won the 2005 race over Martin Truex Jr.

Burney Lamar continues to lead the Raybestos® Rookie standings, holding a 13-point edge over John Andretti (157-144) entering the June 24 AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee (West Allis, Wis.) Mile.

Lamar is 11th in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is 67 points behind 10th-place Kenny Wallace and holds a 31-point edge over 13th-place Reed Sorenson.

Denny Hamlin was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 AT&T 250 at Milwaukee, claiming a sixth-place finish.

Only one Raybestos® Rookie has won at Milwaukee: Greg Biffle in 2001, who won by a whopping 13.302 seconds. Biffle led the race twice for a total of 19 laps.

DID YOU KNOW? Four Raybestos® Rookies have scored top-five finishes at Milwaukee since the program was created in 1989:
1993: Hermie Sadler, third
1994: Johnny Benson, third
1997: Steve Park, fifth
2003: David Stremme, third

DID YOU KNOW? TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished inside the top-10 just once in 13 races at Milwaukee. In 2000, Jimmie Johnson (ninth) and Ron Hornaday (10th) accomplished the feat.

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 157
John Andretti 144
Todd Kluever 143
Danny O’Quinn Jr. 134 
Mark McFarland 133
Joel Kauffman 60 
Tracy Hines 50
David Gilliland 44 
A.J. Foyt IV 39 
Jorge Goeters 16
Kevin Conway 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