Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

O’Reilly 300 - 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 April 7 Pepsi 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. Coleman scored a 15th-place finish on the lead lap (his best finish in five career Busch Series starts) and took top rookie honors for the first time this season.

Marcos Ambrose claimed the second-place starting position at Nashville, his best start in six Busch Series races.

Ambrose leads in the Raybestos® Rookie standings by four points (72-68) over Juan Pablo Montoya entering the April 14 O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Ambrose is sixth in the Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is three points behind fifth-place David Reutimann and holds a 16-point edge over seventh-place Bobby Hamilton Jr.

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).

John Andretti was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 O’Reilly 300, claiming a 19th-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? Only once in 12 previous Busch Series races at Texas have THREE Raybestos® Rookies finished inside the top-10. Sorenson, Carl Edwards (fourth) and Jon Wood (eighth) accomplished the feat in the 2005 O’Reilly 300.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in 12 previous Busch Series races at Texas is second by Kyle Busch in 2004. Busch finished second behind Matt Kenseth in a race that ended under caution.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in O’Reilly 300: 2002: Scott Riggs, fourth 2003: Chad Blount, fifth 2004: Kyle Busch, second 2005: Reed Sorenson, third 2005: Carl Edwards, fourth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in O’Reilly 300: 2000: Kevin Harvick, ninth 2001: Greg Biffle, seventh 2002: Scott Riggs, fourth 2003: Chad Blount, fifth 2004: Kyle Busch, second 2005: Reed Sorenson, third 2005: Carl Edwards, fourth

DID YOU KNOW? Only two Raybestos® Rookies have led the most laps in a Busch Series race at Texas: Busch (2004) and Kevin Harvick (2000). Busch led four times for 147 laps, the most laps led by a rookie in 10 races at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick led twice for 67 laps in 2000.

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 72
Juan Pablo Montoya 68 
David Ragan 59
Kyle Krisiloff 56
Brad Keselowski 40
Sam Hornish Jr. 32 
Brad Coleman 22 
Justin Diercks 18
Robert Richardson Jr. 15
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