Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Winn-Dixie 250 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

David Ragan was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the June 30 Camping World 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Ragan placed 18th and took Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the sixth time in 2007.

Ragan leads Marcos Ambrose by 13 points (178-165) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the July 6 Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Ragan is fourth in the Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is 44 points behind third-place Kevin Harvick and leads fifth-place Jason Leffler by 54.

Three Raybestos® Rookies have captured WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors in the Busch Series this season: Brad Coleman (Talladega, race No. 10 and Kentucky, race No. 16), Marcos Ambrose (Las Vegas, race No. 4) and Juan Pablo Montoya (Mexico City, race No. 3).

DID YOU KNOW? TWO Raybestos® Rookies have won pole positions this season: David Ragan (O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, race No. 8) and Brad Coleman (Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway, race No. 10).

John Andretti was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 Winn-Dixie 250, scoring a 10th-place finish.

Johnny Sauter owns the best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in four July races at Daytona, a sixth-place effort in the 2002 event. Sauter and Andretti are the only Raybestos® Rookies to post a top-10 finish in the July Busch Series race at Daytona.

Raybestos® Rookies that have led a lap in the July race at Daytona:
2002: Johnny Sauter (once for one lap)
2005: Denny Hamlin (once for five laps)

DID YOU KNOW? The best qualifying effort by a Raybestos® Rookie for the July race at Daytona is seventh by Scott Riggs in 2002.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

A Raybestos® Rookie has won at least one race in each of the past FOUR consecutive seasons (2004-2007).

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.

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
David Ragan 178
Marcos Ambrose 165
Kyle Krisiloff 145 
Juan Pablo Montoya 144
Brad Coleman 88 
Brad Keselowski 87
Robert Richardson Jr. 57 
Justin Diercks 51 
Sam Hornish Jr. 35
Bobby Santos 21 
Alex Garcia 7 

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
ORBITZ 300 Ambrose, 16th 
Stater Bros. 300 Peters, 17th 
Telcel-Motorola 200 Montoya, FIRST
Sam’s Town 300 Ambrose, 10th 
Nicorette 300 Montoya, eighth
Sharpie Mini 300 Ragan, 13th 
Pepsi 300 Coleman, 15th 
O’Reilly 300 Ragan, fifth
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Montoya, 21st 
Aaron’s 312 Ragan, fourth
Circuit City 250 Montoya, 11th 
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Ragan, 13th 
CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 Ambrose, 20th 
Dover 200 Ambrose, sixth
Federated Auto Parts 300 Ragan, seventh
Meijer 300 presented by Oreo Coleman, second
AT&T 250 Coleman, fourth
Camping World 200 Ragan, 18th