Race 2 Win: UAW-Ford 500 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

Nextel Cup Series

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UAW-Ford 500 - Raybestos® Rookie Notes

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

Kyle Busch was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the September 25 MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Busch finished second, .080 seconds (less than one car length) behind race winner Jimmie Johnson. Busch took top rookie honors for the 19th time this season.

Busch finished second in both races this season at Dover. His average finish of 2.0 is the best by a Raybestos® Rookie since Johnson won both races at Dover in 2002.

Busch maintains a comfortable lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the Oct. 2 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, leading Travis Kvapil by 79 points (298-219).

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 28 starts entering the Talladega 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 five times in three races for 33 laps (48.75 miles).

Raybestos® Rookies at Talladega Superspeedway:

Brendan Gaughan was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2004 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Gaughan placed fourth, his only top-five finish in 36 career NEXTEL Cup Series starts. He and led that race once for seven laps.

DID YOU KNOW? The only Raybestos® Rookie to win the fall race at Talladega is Ron Bouchard, who won the 1981 Talladega 500 over Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte in a photo finish.

TWO Raybestos® Rookies have won the pole for the UAW-Ford 500 since 1975: Geoffrey Bodine (1982) and Johnson (2003).

TWO or more Raybestos® Rookies have finished in the top-10 in the fall race at Talladega THREE times since 1975:
1980: Lake Speed, eighth
1980: Kyle Petty, ninth
1981: Bouchard, first
1981: Stan Barrett, ninth
2000: Mike Bliss, ninth
2000: Kenseth, 10th

DID YOU KNOW? The most Raybestos® Rookies to lead a lap in the fall race at Talladega is FOUR in 2000: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (five times for 28 laps), Bliss (once for four laps), Stacy Compton (once for two laps) and Kenseth (once for one lap).

DID YOU KNOW? The late Davey Allison holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in the fall race at Talladega. Allison led seven times for 77 laps on his way to a second-place finish in 1987.

Since 1975, only FIVE Raybestos® Rookies have scored a top-five finish in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega:
1977: Ricky Rudd, fourth
1981: Bouchard, first
1987: Allison, second
1999: Tony Stewart, fifth
2004: Gaughan, fourth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega (since 1975):
1976: Skip Manning, ninth
1977: Rudd, fourth
1979: Harry Gant, seventh
1980: Speed, eighth
1980: Petty, ninth
1981: Bouchard, first
1981: Barrett, ninth
1984: Tommy Ellis, ninth
1987: Allison, second
1999: Stewart, fifth
2000: Bliss, ninth
2000: Kenseth, 10th
2002: Ryan Newman, seventh

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), Kulwicki (1986), Jeff 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 298
Travis Kvapil 219 

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 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

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