Race 2 Win: Bashas' Supermarkets 200 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Bashas' Supermarkets 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 April 15 Pepsi 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. Lamar finished seventh, scoring his third top 10 of the 2006 season. He took Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the third time this season.

Lamar leads Todd Kluever by 16 points (89-73) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the April 21 Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Lamar climbed five spots in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings with his performance at Nashville. He is 10th in points, four behind ninth-place Kyle Busch and 25 ahead of 11th-place Jason Leffler.

Danny O’Quinn Jr. scored his best qualifying effort of the season at Nashville, grabbing the third starting position. His best previous effort in eight previous Busch Series races was eighth in the February 18 Hershey’s Kissables 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Carl Edwards was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix. Edwards claimed an eighth-place finish and was the only first-year driver to finish inside the top 10.

Edwards and Denny Hamlin were the only Raybestos® Rookies to lead a lap in the 2005 spring race at Phoenix. Edwards led once for five laps while Hamlin led once for eight laps.

The 2005 event was the first-ever springtime Busch Series race held in Phoenix.

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.

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 89
Todd Kluever 73
John Andretti 68
Danny O’Quinn Jr. 65 
Mark McFarland 64
Joel Kauffman 39 
A.J. Foyt IV 38 
Tracy Hines 38
Chris Wimmer 14
Jorge Goeters 14
David Gilliland 8
Kevin Conway 6 

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