Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Yellow Transportation 300 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Brad Keselowski was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the September 22 RoadLoans.com 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Keselowski finished seventh, his third top-10 finish of the 2007 season and took top rookie honors for the fourth time.

DID YOU KNOW? Keselowski became the first Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-10 finish in the fall race at Dover since 2005.

David Ragan leads Marcos Ambrose by 24 points (214-190) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the September 29 Yellow Transportation 300 at Kansas Speedway.

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

THE STREAK CONTINUES: At least two Raybestos® Rookies have been in the top-10 in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings for 14 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 157 points behind fourth-place Jason Leffler and leads sixth-place Bobby Hamilton Jr. by 42.

Ambrose is eighth in the standings, 21 points behind seventh-place Greg Biffle.

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.

Stephen Leicht was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 Yellow Transportation 300 at Kansas, scoring a 12th-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie at Kansas is second by Kerry Earnhardt in 2002. Earnhardt finished 3.272 seconds behind Jeff Burton.

DID YOU KNOW? Paul Menard is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in six Busch Series races at Kansas. Menard won the pole for the 2004 race.

DID YOU KNOW? TWO Raybestos® Rookies have finished inside the top-10 just once in six races at Kansas. In 2005, Jon Wood finished fifth while Reed Sorenson placed sixth.

DID YOU KNOW? Scott Riggs holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Busch Series race at Kansas. Riggs led once for 52 laps in the 2002 race.

The most Raybestos® Rookies to lead a race at Kansas is THREE in 2002: Riggs, Shane Hmiel (once for 16 laps) and Kerry Earnhardt (once for nine laps).

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the fall race at Kansas:
2001: Greg Biffle, third
2002: Kerry Earnhardt, second
2005: Jon Wood, fifth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the fall race at Kansas:
2001: Greg Biffle, third
2002: Kerry Earnhardt, second
2004: J.J. Yeley, sixth
2005: Jon Wood, fifth
2005: Reed Sorenson, sixth

Raybestos® Rookies that have led a lap at Kansas:
2002: Scott Riggs (once for 51 laps)
2002: Shane Hmiel (once for 16 laps)
2002: Kerry Earnhardt (once for nine laps)
2005: Carl Edwards (once for nine laps)

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 214
Marcos Ambrose 190
Kyle Krisiloff 171
Juan Pablo Montoya 165 
Brad Keselowski 157
Brad Coleman 156 
Robert Richardson Jr. 99
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 
RoadLoans.com 200 Keselowski, seventh