Race 2 Win: Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods

Nextel Cup Series

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Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods - 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 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, collecting a 16th-place finish. He led the race once for one lap, the only Raybestos Rookie to lead a lap in the race. Kvapil took top rookie honors for the ninth time this season.

Kyle Busch maintains a comfortable lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the Oct. 9 Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway, leading Kvapil by 78 points (300-222).

FORTY PERCENT OF CHASE DRIVERS ARE FORMER RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE OF THE YEAR WINNERS: FOUR of the 10 drivers who qualified for the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup are former Raybestos® Rookie of the Year winners: Tony Stewart (1999), Ryan Newman (2002), Rusty Wallace (1984) and Matt Kenseth (2000). THREE of those four won at least one race in their Raybestos® Rookie season: (Stewart, Newman and Kenseth).

Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a race this season, capturing the September 4 Sony HD 500 at California Speedway. He became the youngest race winner (20 yrs., 4 mos. and 2 days) in NEXTEL Cup history. Busch edged Greg Biffle to the finish line by .554 seconds to win in his 31st career start.

DID YOU KNOW? Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-five finish this season. He has racked up eight top fives in 29 starts entering the Kansas race.

Busch became the youngest pole winner in NASCAR’s premier series (19 yrs., 9 mos. and 24 days) when he grabbed the No. 1 qualifying spot for the February 27 Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. He is also the most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole and is the only first-year driver to win a pole in 2005.

DID YOU KNOW? Two or more Raybestos® Rookies have led a lap in just two races this season: Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

Busch is the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead the most laps in a race this season. He led the Sony HD 500 five times for 95 laps, the most he has led in a single race in his NEXTEL Cup career.

Season Tidbits:

Busch has led more miles (438) than any other Raybestos® Rookie in 2005 (16 times in seven races for 288 laps). Kvapil has led six times in four races for 34 laps (51.41 miles).

Raybestos® Rookies at Kansas Speedway:

Brendan Gaughan was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2004 Banquet 400 at Kansas. Gaughan finished 10th, the only freshman driver to log a top-10 finish.

Kasey Kahne finished 12th and was the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap in the race, holding the top spot four times for 39 circuits.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in four previous NEXTEL Cup races at Kansas is second by Newman in 2002. Newman is the only Raybestos® Rookie to finish inside the top five at Kansas Speedway. He finished second, .618 seconds behind Jeff Gordon.

DID YOU KNOW? Jason Leffler is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole in four races at Kansas Speedway. Leffler took the top starting spot in the inaugural Banquet 400 in 2001.

DID YOU KNOW? At least one Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top 10 in each of the four previous races at Kansas, but only once have TWO or more freshman drivers finished inside the top 10: Newman and Jimmie Johnson (10th) in 2002.

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the Banquet 400 at Kansas:
2001: Kurt Busch, ninth
2002: Newman, second
2002: Johnson, 10th
2003: Jamie McMurray, eighth
2004: Gaughan, 10th

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has led at least one lap in three of the four previous NEXTEL Cup races at Kansas:
2001: Leffler, once for eight laps.
2002: Newman, twice for 81 laps.
2004: Kahne, four times for 39 laps.

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: Dale Earnhardt (1979), Wallace (1984), Alan Kulwicki (1986), Gordon (1993), 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 300
Travis Kvapil 222 

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 
USG Sheetrock 400 Busch, 14th 
New England 300 Busch, fourth
Pennsylvania 500 Mike Garvey, 34th 
Allstate 400 Busch, 10th 
Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen Busch, 33rd 
GFS Marketplace 400 Kvapil, 38th
Sharpie 500 Kvapil, 19th 
Sony HD 500 Busch, first
Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Busch, fourth
Sylvania 300 Busch, 27th 
MBNA RacePoints 400 Busch, second
UAW-Ford 500 Kvapil, 16th

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