Race 2 Win: Kroger 200 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Kroger 200 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Burney Lamar was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the July 29 Busch Silver Celebration 250 at Gateway (Madison, Ill.) International Raceway. Lamar finished 12th and took top rookie honors for the fourth time in 22 races.

Lamar leads the Raybestos® Rookie standings by just one point over John Andretti (174-173) entering the August 5 Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park (Indianapolis, Ind.).

Andretti is 12th in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is eight points behind 11th-place Jason Leffler and trails 10th-place Kenny Wallace by 129. Andretti leads 13th-place Reed Sorenson by 35 and 14th-place Jon Wood by 80 points.

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

Sorenson was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Kroger 200, claiming a third-place finish. He also won the pole for the race, joining Leffler as the only other Raybestos® Rookies to win a pole position at O’Reilly Raceway Park

DID YOU KNOW? Kyle Busch (2004) and Ron Hornaday (2000) are the only Raybestos® Rookies to win the Kroger 200.

DID YOU KNOW? Busch is the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap at O’Reilly Raceway Park. He led once, covering the final 44 laps.

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-five in five of the last six races at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

Only twice since 1989 has a Raybestos® Rookie led the most laps in the Kroger 200. Greg Biffle led 107, the most ever by a first-year driver, in 2001 while Scott Riggs held the top spot for 94 laps in 2002.

The most Raybestos® Rookies to finish inside the top-10 at O’Reilly Raceway Park is three in 2000: Ron Hornaday (first), Leffler (fourth), and Kevin Harvick (eighth).

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at O’Reilly Raceway Park:
1993: Tim Fedewa, fifth
1994: Dennis Setzer, fourth
2000: Ron Hornaday, FIRST
2000: Jason Leffler, fourth
2001: Greg Biffle, second
2002: Johnny Sauter, fourth
2004: Kyle Busch, FIRST
2005: Reed Sorenson, third

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at O’Reilly Raceway Park:
1990: Dave Mader III, 10th
1991: Troy Beebe, 10th
1993: Tim Fedewa, fifth
1994: Dennis Setzer, fourth
1995: Jeff Fuller, 10th
1997: Steve Park, eighth
1999: Tony Raines, 10th
2000: Ron Hornaday, FIRST
2000: Jason Leffler, fourth
2000: Kevin Harvick, eighth
2001: Greg Biffle, second
2002: Johnny Sauter, fourth
2004: Kyle Busch, FIRST
2005: Reed Sorenson, third
2005: Denny Hamlin, sixth

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 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 174
John Andretti 173
Todd Kluever 168
Danny O’Quinn Jr. 158 
Mark McFarland 149
Tracy Hines 71 
Joel Kauffman 68
David Gilliland 44 
A.J. Foyt IV 39 
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