Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Pepsi 300 - 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 March 24 Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Ragan finished 13th, his best finish of the 2007 Busch Series season and grabbed Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the first time this season.

Juan Pablo Montoya leads in the Raybestos® Rookie standings by six points (68-62) over Marcos Ambrose entering the April 7 Pepsi 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

For the second consecutive race, TWO Raybestos® Rookies rank inside the top-10 in the Busch Series championship standings. Montoya is sixth, 33 points behind fifth-place Matt Kenseth. Ambrose is seventh, eight behind Montoya and trails Kenseth by 41 points.

Ambrose (Las Vegas) and Montoya (Mexico City) have each earned WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors this season.

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

Burney Lamar was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway, grabbing a seventh-place finish.

A Raybestos® Rookie has won THREE Busch Series races at Nashville Superspeedway, all coming in the Pepsi 300 (spring race):
2001: Greg Biffle
2002: Scott Riggs
2005: Reed Sorenson

Three Raybestos® Rookies have won pole positions at Nashville (11 races):
2002: Shane Hmiel (Pepsi 300)
2005: Reed Sorenson (Pepsi 300)
2006: Todd Kluever (Federated Auto Parts 300)

Reed Sorenson holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in a Busch race at Nashville. Sorenson led three times for 197 laps in 2005.

Only TWICE in 11 previous Nashville races at Nashville have TWO Raybestos® Rookies finish in the top-five
2001 Pepsi 300: Greg Biffle (first) and Scott Wimmer (third).
2005 Pepsi 300: Reed Sorenson (first) and Carl Edwards, (fourth)

Top-five finishes by Raybestos Rookies at Nashville:
2001 Pepsi 300: Greg Biffle (first), Scott Wimmer (third).
2002 Pepsi 300: Scott Riggs (first).
2003 Federated 300: David Stremme (third).
2004 Pepsi 300: Clint Bowyer (fourth)
2004 Federated 300: Clint Bowyer (third)
2005 Pepsi 300: Reed Sorenson (first) and Carl Edwards (fourth)
2005 Federated 300: Reed Sorenson (third)

One or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top-10 in all 11 Busch Series races at Nashville:
2001 Pepsi 300: Greg Biffle (first), Scott Riggs (third).
2002 Pepsi 300: Scott Riggs (first), Kerry Earnhardt (eighth).
2002 Federated 300: Shane Hmiel (ninth), Casey Mears (10th).
2003 Pepsi 300: David Stremme (seventh), Chad Blount (eighth).
2003 Federated 300: David Stremme (third).
2004 Pepsi 300: Clint Bowyer (fourth) and Kyle Busch (sixth)
2004 Federated 300: Clint Bowyer (third) and J.J. Yeley (eighth)
2005 Pepsi 300: Reed Sorenson (first), Carl Edwards (fourth) and Denny Hamlin (ninth)
2005 Federated 300: Reed Sorenson (third), Denny Hamlin (seventh) and Paul Wolfe (10th).
2006 Pepsi 300: Burney Lamar (seventh)
2006 Federated 300: Danny O’Quinn Jr. (10th)

THREE Raybestos® Rookies have led the most laps in 11 Busch Series races at Nashville.
2001: Greg Biffle (Pepsi 300)
2004: Clint Bowyer (Federated 300)
2005: Reed Sorenson (Pepsi 300)

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.

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
Juan Pablo Montoya 68
Marcos Ambrose 62
David Ragan 54
Kyle Krisiloff 47
Brad Keselowski 36
Sam Hornish Jr. 25 
Brad Coleman 11 
Justin Diercks 10
Robert Richardson Jr. 9
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