Race 2 Win: Stater Bros. 300 Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Stater Bros. 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Marcos Ambrose was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the February 17 ORBITZ 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Ambrose scored a 16th-place finish in his first Busch Series start.

Ambrose holds a one-point lead over Kyle Krisiloff (11-10) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings (199-199) entering the Feb. 24 Stater Bros. 300 at California Speedway.

Ambrose 16th in the Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie.

Todd Kluever was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 Stater Bros. 300, scoring a 12th-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? Scott Riggs is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a Busch Series race at California Speedway. Riggs won the 2002 event by .991 second over Jeff Green.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at California:
1997: Steve Park, second
2002: Scott Riggs, first
2004: Reed Sorenson, fifth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at California:
1997: Steve Park, second
2002: Scott Riggs, first
2003: Kyle Busch, seventh
2004: Reed Sorenson, fifth
2004: Carl Edwards, sixth

DID YOU KNOW? Greg Biffle is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in the eight Busch Series races at California. Biffle led six times for 90 laps in the 2001 race.

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, Todd 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 (Tenn.) Speedway, the Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan International Speedway and the Autolite Platinum 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

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
Marcos Ambrose 11
Kyle Krisiloff 10
Robert Richardson Jr. 9
Sam Hornish Jr. 8
Juan Pablo Montoya 7
David Ragan 6
Justin Diercks 1
Brad Keselowski 1 

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
ORBITZ 300 Ambrose, 16th