Race 2 Win: Nationwide Series Race Notes

Nationwide Series

Sam’s Town 300 - Raybestos Rookies Notes

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

Dario Franchitti was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the February 25 Stater Bros. 300 at Auto Club (Fontana, Calif.) Speedway. Franchitti posted a 24th-place finish in the race.

Bryan Clauson holds a four-point lead (25-21) over Franchitti in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the March 1 Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.

Marcos Ambrose was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2007 Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas, scoring a 10th-place finish. Ambrose also earned WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors in the event.

DID YOU KNOW? Carl Edwards is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position at Las Vegas. Edwards grabbed the top starting spot for the 2005 Sam’s Town 300.

DID YOU KNOW? Edwards is also the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in a Busch Series race at Las Vegas, holding the top spot six times for 124 laps.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie at Las Vegas is second by Greg Biffle in 2001. Biffle finished 1.085 seconds behind race winner Todd Bodine.

The only other Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-five at Las Vegas is Scott Riggs, who finished fourth in the 2002 race.

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the Las Vegas: 1997: Steve Park, eighth 2000: Ron Hornaday, eighth 2001: Greg Biffle, second 2002: Scott Riggs, fourth 2005: Reed Sorenson, sixth 2005: Carl Edwards, seventh 2007: Marcos Ambrose, 10th

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Bryan Clauson 25
Dario Franchitti 21
Brian Keselowski 10
Cale Gale 9

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE
Camping World 300 Clauson, sixth 
Stater Bros. 300 Franchitti, 24th

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

David Ragan captured 2007 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Ragan edged Marcos Ambrose by 27 points (272-245) for the honor. Ragan finished the season with two poles, four top-five and nine top-10 finishes. His best finish of the season was a third-place effort in the Sam’s Town 250 at Memphis (Millington, Tenn.) Motorsports Park (race no. 32). Ragan was fifth in the Nationwide Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie.

The most recent streak for at least two Raybestos® Rookies to rank inside the top-10 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings is 21 consecutive races (2007 race at Kentucky Speedway, race No. 16, through 2008 Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, race No. 1).

Roush Fenway Racing has won THREE consecutive Raybestos® Rookie of the Year titles in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and FOUR since 2001. The others:
2006: Danny O’Quinn Jr.
2005: Carl Edwards
2001: Greg Biffle

Danny O’Quinn Jr. narrowly edged John Andretti to win the 2006 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title in the NASCAR Nationwide 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.

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 Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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.