Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Carfax 250 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Brad Coleman was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the August 11 Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. Coleman finished fifth, his third top-five and fifth top-10 of the 2007 season. He took top rookie honors for the fourth time this season.

DID YOU KNOW? At least one Raybestos® Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in each of the last FOUR consecutive Busch Series races.

David Ragan leads Marcos Ambrose by 18 points (199-181) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the August 18 CARFAX 250 at Michigan International Speedway.

DID YOU KNOW? At least two Raybestos® Rookies have been in the top-10 in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings for NINE 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 28 points behind fourth-place Jason Leffler and leads sixth-place Bobby Hamilton Jr. by 91.

Ambrose is eighth in the standings, 32 points behind seventh-place Stephen Leicht.

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.

Danny O’Quinn Jr. was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 CARFAX 250 at Michigan, scoring a 20th-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? Kyle Busch (2004) and Steve Park (1997) are the only Raybestos® Rookies to win at Michigan.

DID YOU KNOW? In 15 Busch Series races at Michigan, only THREE Raybestos® Rookies have scored top-five finishes.

DID YOU KNOW? Shawna Robinson is the only female driver to take Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors in Busch Series competition at Michigan. Robinson placed 11th in the 1992 race, the first-ever Busch Series race at Michigan.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Michigan:
1997: Steve Park, FIRST
2004: Kyle Busch, FIRST
2005: Carl Edwards, third

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Michigan:
1997: Steve Park, FIRST
1997: Matt Kenseth, eighth
2000: Jimmie Johnson, sixth
2000: Kevin Harvick, ninth
2002: Scott Riggs, sixth
2002: Kasey Kahne, 10th
2004: Kyle Busch, FIRST
2005: Carl Edwards, third
2005: Denny Hamlin, eighth

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 199
Marcos Ambrose 181
Juan Pablo Montoya 165
Kyle Krisiloff 164 
Brad Coleman 131 
Brad Keselowski 118 
Robert Richardson Jr. 84
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