Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Aaron’s 312 - Raybestos Rookie Notes

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

Juan Pablo Montoya was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the April 20 Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Montoya scored a 21st-place finish and took Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the third time this season. He led the race once for three laps.

Marcos Ambrose holds a two-point edge over Montoya (88-86) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the April 28 Aaron’s 312 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

DID YOU KNOW? Montoya has led more laps than any other Raybestos® Rookie this season, holding the top spot five times in two races for a total of 46 laps. Other Raybestos® Rookies to lead at least one lap this season: Ragan (twice in two races for four laps) and Ambrose (once in one race for one lap).

Ambrose started 10th at Phoenix, his second top-10 start in the last three races.

DID YOU KNOW? David Ragan is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position this season. Ragan captured the top starting spot for the O’Reilly 300 (race No. 8) at Texas Motor Speedway.

Ambrose is eighth in the Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is just four points behind seventh-place Mike Wallace and leads ninth-place Bobby Hamilton Jr. by one point.

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).

Mark McFarland was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 Aaron’s 312, grabbing a seventh-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie at Talladega: second, by Steve Park (1997) and Jon Wood (2005).

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in each of the past SEVEN consecutive Aaron’s 312 races at Talladega:
2000: Mike Borkowski, 10th
2001: Greg Biffle, sixth
2002: Casey Mears, fifth
2003: Coy Gibbs, 10th
2004: Kyle Busch, fourth
2005: Jon Wood, second
2006: Mark McFarland, seventh

Top-five finishes by Raybestos Rookies® at Talladega (15 races):
1997: Steve Park, second
2002: Casey Mears, fifth
2004: Kyle Busch, fourth
2005: Jon Wood, second

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Talladega (15 races):
1993: Hermie Sadler, ninth
1997: Steve Park, second
1997: Tim Steele, sixth
1997: Matt Kenseth, seventh
1998: Matt Hutter, ninth
2000: Mike Borkowski, 10th
2001: Greg Biffle, sixth
2002: Casey Mears, fifth
2003: Coy Gibbs, 10th
2004: Kyle Busch, fourth
2005: Jon Wood, second
2005: Brent Sherman, ninth
2005: Kertus Davis, 10th
2006: Mark McFarland, seventh

Johnny Sauter (2002) and Clint Bowyer (2004) are the only Raybestos® Rookies to win poles in 15 Busch Series races at Talladega. Both Sauter and Bowyer won the first poles of their Busch Series careers and both were driving cars prepared by Richard Childress Racing.

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 88
Juan Pablo Montoya 86
David Ragan 83 
Kyle Krisiloff 73
Brad Keselowski 53
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
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Montoya, 21st