Race 2 Win: USG Sheetrock 400 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Nextel Cup Series

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USG Sheetrock 400 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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

Travis Kvapil was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the July 2 Pepsi 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Kvapil finished 23rd, completing all 160 laps of the race. He took top rookie honors for the second consecutive race and for the sixth time this season.

Kyle Busch maintains a 42-point lead over Kvapil (219-177) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the July 10 USG SHEETROCK 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie to post three consecutive top-10 finishes this season: Michigan, Pocono (Pa.) and Dover (Del.).

Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead in back-to-back races this season. He led twice for 55 laps at Lowe’s Motor Speedway May 29 and twice for 90 laps at Dover.

Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-five finish this season. His other top-five finishes: second at Las Vegas and Dover, and fourth at Richmond (Va.) and Pocono.

Busch is also the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position this season. He took the top starting spot for the Feb. 27 Auto Club 500 at California Speedway.

Busch has led more miles (184.50) than any other Raybestos® Rookie this season (seven times in four races for 155 laps). Kvapil has led four times in two races for 32 laps (48.00 miles).

The Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway was the first race this season where TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies led a lap in the same race. Busch held the top spot twice for 55 laps while Kvapil led twice for 23.

Raybestos® Rookies at Chicagoland:

Brian Vickers was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2004 Tropicana 400, grabbing a 14th-place finish.

Kasey Kahne was the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the 2004 race at Chicagoland, holding the top spot twice for 10 laps.

Kevin Harvick is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win in four NEXTEL Cup races at Chicagoland Speedway. He won the 2001 Tropicana 400 by .649 seconds over Robert Pressley. Harvick is also the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in the four races at Chicagoland, holding the top spot five times for 113 laps.

TWO more Raybestos® Rookies have finished inside the top five just once in four NEXTEL Cup races at Chicagoland: In 2002, Jimmie Johnson placed fourth while Ryan Newman finished fifth in 2002

Two or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top 10 in two of the four races at Chicagoland. In addition to Johnson and Newman in 2002, Harvick and Kurt Busch (eighth) both finished inside the top 10 in 2001.

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has led at least one lap in all four races at Chicagoland:
2001: Harvick (five times for 113 laps)
2002: Newman (twice for 86 laps)
2002: Johnson (once for two laps)
2003: Jamie McMurray (once for one lap)
2004: Kahne (twice for 10 laps)

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Chicagoland:
2001: Harvick, first
2002: Johnson, fourth
2002: Newman, fifth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Chicagoland.
2001: Harvick, first
2001: Busch, eighth
2002: Johnson, fourth
2002: Newman, fifth
2003: McMurray, eighth

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

The way to the NASCAR NEXTEL championship is to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. Since 1979, SIX Raybestos® Rookie of the Year drivers have gone on to win a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup title: Earnhardt (1979), Rusty Wallace (1984), Alan Kulwicki (1986), Jeff Gordon (1993), Tony Stewart (1999) and Matt Kenseth (2000).

At least one Raybestos® Rookie has won a Bud Pole in each of the last 10 years (1996-2005). There has been a first-time Bud Pole winner in each of the last 19 years (1987-2005).

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER POINTS
Kyle Busch 219
Travis Kvapil 177
Stanton Barrett 51
Eric McClure 19
Mike Garvey 2

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIES BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE
Daytona 500 Kvapil, 19th 
Auto Club 500 Busch, 23rd 
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Busch, second
Golden Corral 500 Busch, 12th 
Food City 500 Kvapil, seventh
Advance Auto Parts 500 Kvapil, 27th 
Samsung/RadioShack 500 Busch, 21st 
Subway Fresh 500 Busch, eighth
Aaron’s 499 Kvapil, 18th 
Dodge Charger 500 Busch, 23rd 
Chevy American Revolution 400 Busch, fourth
Coca-Cola 600 Busch, 25th 
MBNA RacePoints 400 Busch, second
Pocono 500 Busch, fourth 
Batman Begins 400 Busch, ninth
Dodge/Save Mart 350 Kvapil, 21st 
Pepsi 400 Kvapil, 23rd

News and Results | Point Standings | 2005 Schedule | 2005 Teams | 2004 Schedule and Results