Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 - 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 April 14 O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Ragan finished fifth, his first top-five finish in 15 Busch Series starts. He took Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the second time in three races. Ragan became the first Raybestos Rookie® to score a top-five finish in the spring race at Texas since Carl Edwards placed fourth in 2005.

Ragan won the pole position for the O’Reilly 300, the first pole position of his Busch Series career. He is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole this season.

Marcos Ambrose holds a two-point lead over Ragan (78-76) entering the April 20 Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.

TWO Raybestos® Rookies are in the top-10 in the Busch Series championship standings. Ambrose is eighth, best of any Raybestos® Rookie, 35 points behind seventh-place Bobby Hamilton Jr. Ragan is in 10th-place, 15 points ahead of 11th-place Stephen Leicht.

Ambrose (Las Vegas) and Montoya (Mexico City) are the only Raybestos® Rookies to 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).

Danny O’Quinn Jr. was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 Bashas’ Supermarkets 200, posting a 14th-place finish.

Carl Edwards owns the best finish in three spring races at Phoenix, an eighth-place effort in 2005. The 2005 event was the first-ever springtime Busch Series race held in Phoenix.

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
Marcos Ambrose 78
David Ragan 76
Juan Pablo Montoya 75 
Kyle Krisiloff 64
Brad Keselowski 45
Sam Hornish Jr. 32 
Brad Coleman 32 
Justin Diercks 27
Robert Richardson Jr. 16
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