Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

RoadLoans.com 200 - 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 September 7 Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Ambrose posted a 15th-place finish and took top rookie honors for the fifth time this season.

David Ragan leads Ambrose by 25 points (213-188) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the September 22 RoadLoans.com 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in SIX of the last EIGHT Busch Series races.

LUCKY 13! At least two Raybestos® Rookies have been in the top-10 in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings for 13 consecutive races, dating back to Kentucky (race No. 16).

Ragan is fifth in the Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is 151 points behind fourth-place Jason Leffler and leads sixth-place Bobby Hamilton Jr. by 102.

Ambrose is seventh in the standings, 124 points behind sixth-place Hamilton Jr.

Ambrose has captured WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors twice this season: Montreal (race No. 23) and Las Vegas (race No. 4). Other Raybestos® Rookies to capture the honor: Brad Coleman (Talladega, race No. 10 and Kentucky, race No. 16) and Juan Pablo Montoya (Mexico City, race No. 3).

DID YOU KNOW? TWO Raybestos® Rookies have won pole positions this season: David Ragan at Texas (race No. 8) and Brad Coleman at Talladega.

Ambrose was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the June race at Dover, claiming a sixth-place finish.

Todd Kluever was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 Dover 200, grabbing a 13th-place finish.

THREE Raybestos® Rookies finished in the top-10 in the 2005 Dover 200, the most freshman drivers to finish in the top-10 in the fall Busch Series race at Dover since the program was created in 1989 (18 previous races): Reed Sorenson (fourth), Denny Hamlin (sixth) and Carl Edwards (ninth).

DID YOU KNOW? Johnny Benson is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the fall race at Dover. Benson scored his first career Busch Series win at Dover in September 1994 over Harry Gant.

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the fall Busch Series race at Dover is the late Adam Petty in 1999, who led 23 laps.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the fall race at Dover:
1994: Johnny Benson, first
1997: Matt Kenseth, third
1997: Steve Park, fifth
1998: Kevin Grubb, second
1999: Tony Raines, fourth
2001: Greg Biffle, fifth
2005: Reed Sorenson, fourth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the fall race at Dover:
1990: Dave Mader III, ninth
1991: Jeff Gordon, eighth
1993: Joe Bessey, 10th
1994: Johnny Benson, first
1997: Matt Kenseth, third
1997: Steve Park, fifth
1998: Kevin Grubb, second
1998: Dave Blaney, sixth
1999: Tony Raines, fourth
2001: Greg Biffle, fifth
2002: Shane Hmiel, 10th
2004: Kyle Busch, ninth
2005: Reed Sorenson, fourth
2005: Denny Hamlin, sixth
2005: Carl Edwards, ninth

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

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

Danny O’Quinn Jr. narrowly edged John Andretti to win the 2006 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title in the NASCAR Busch Series. O’Quinn Jr. finished one point higher than Andretti in the final standings, the closet margin in NASCAR national series history. He also became the second driver in series history to win the award without completing the full schedule. The 2006 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title was the second consecutive and third overall for Roush Fenway Racing in the Busch Series.

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 213
Marcos Ambrose 188
Kyle Krisiloff 170
Juan Pablo Montoya 165 
Brad Coleman 150 
Brad Keselowski 147 
Robert Richardson Jr. 90
Justin Diercks 51 

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 
Winn-Dixie 250 Krisiloff, 20th 
USG DUROCK 300 Keselowski, 14th 
Busch 250 Ragan, fifth
Kroger 200 Keselowski, 10th 
NAPA Auto Parts 200 Krisiloff, sixth
Zippo 200 at The Glen Coleman, fifth
CARFAX 250 Keselowski, 13th 
Food City 250 Ragan, sixth
Camping World 300 Ragan, 10th 
Emerson Radio 250 Ambrose, 15th