Race 2 Win: Aaron's 312 - Circuit City 250 Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Circuit City 250 - 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 April 29 Aaron’s 312 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. McFarland finished seventh his best effort in 20 Busch Series starts. He scored his first career top-10 finish. This is just the second time in 2006 that McFarland has claimed top rookie honors.

McFarland jumped from fifth to second in the Raybestos® Rookie standings. He trails leader by 18 points (107-89) entering the May 5 Circuit City 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has now scored a top-10 finish in each of the past SEVEN consecutive Aaron’s 312 races at Talladega: Mike Borkowski (10th in 2000), Greg Biffle (sixth in 2001), Casey Mears (fifth in 2002), Coy Gibbs (10th in 2003), Kyle Busch (fourth in 2004), Jon Wood (second), Brent Sherman (ninth) and Kertus Davis (10th) in 2005.

Lamar is 11th in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings, one point behind 10th-place Johnny Sauter and 33 behind ninth-place Jon Wood. He holds a 12-point edge over 12th-place Reed Sorenson and leads 13th-place Jason Leffler by 18.

Raybestos® Rookie Carl Edwards won the 2005 Circuit City 250 at Richmond. Edwards officially scored the win by .144 seconds over Elliott Sadler. Edwards led only one lap, the final lap of the race.

Kyle Busch won the spring race at Richmond in 2004. Busch was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win the spring Busch Series race at Richmond and is the youngest driver to win a race at Richmond (19 years old).

DID YOU KNOW? For the first time since the program was created in 1989, a Raybestos® Rookie has won back-to-back spring races at Richmond.

DID YOU KNOW? At least one Raybestos® Rookie has finished on the lead lap in each of the last six spring races at Richmond.
2005: Edwards, first
2005: Denny Hamlin, 13th
2005: Michel Jourdain, Jr., 21st
2004: Kyle Busch, first
2003: David Stremme, 13th
2002: Brian Vickers, seventh
2001: Scott Wimmer, seventh
2000: Kevin Harvick, third
2000: Jimmie Johnson, 12th
2000: Ron Hornaday, 17th

A Raybestos® Rookie has now finished in the top-10 in five of the last six spring races at Richmond:
2005: Edwards, first
2004: Busch, first
2002: Vickers, seventh
2001: Wimmer, seventh
2000: Harvick, third

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 107
Mark McFarland 89
Todd Kluever 85
John Andretti 84 
Danny O’Quinn Jr. 82
Tracy Hines 50 
Joel Kauffman 47 
A.J. Foyt IV 38
Jorge Goeters 15
David Gilliland 15
Chris Wimmer 14
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
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 O’Quinn Jr., 14th 
Aaron’s 312 McFarland, seventh