Raybestos Rookie News and Notes: Ford 300 Camp & Associates Press Release
NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS
– NASCAR BUSCH SERIES · Marcos Ambrose was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the November 10 ARIZONA.TRAVEL 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Ambrose scored a 15th-place finish and took top rookie honors for the sixth time this season.
· David Ragan leads Ambrose by 30 points (234-204) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the November 17 Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
· THE STREAK CONTINUES: At least two Raybestos® Rookies have been in the top-10 in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings for 19 consecutive races, dating back to Kentucky (race No. 16).
· Ragan is fifth in the Busch Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie. He is 198 points behind fourth-place Kevin Harvick and 145 ahead of sixth-place Bobby Hamilton Jr.
· Ambrose is eighth in the standings, 100 points behind seventh-place Stephen Leicht and 27 ahead of ninth-place Greg Biffle.
· Ambrose has captured WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors twice this season: Montreal (race No. 23) and Las Vegas (race No. 4). Other Raybestos® Rookies to capture the honor: Brad Coleman (Talladega and Kentucky, race No. 16) and Juan Pablo Montoya (Mexico City, race No. 3).
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DID YOU KNOW? TWO Raybestos® Rookies have won pole positions this season: David Ragan at Texas (race No.
and Brad Coleman at Talladega.
Todd Kluever was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2006 Ford 300, grabbing a ninth-place finish. DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Ford 300 is third by Kyle Busch (2004) and Greg Biffle (2001).
DID YOU KNOW? Casey Atwood is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position at Homestead. Atwood claimed the top starting spot for the 1998 Jiffy Lube 300.
DID YOU KNOW? Only once in 12 previous Busch Series races at Homestead have TWO Raybestos® Rookie finished in the top-five. In 2001, Greg Biffle place third just ahead of fellow Raybestos® Rookie Scott Wimmer, who grabbed a fourth place finish.
Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Homestead: 1999: Hank Parker Jr., fourth
2001: Greg Biffle, third
2001: Scott Wimmer, fourth
2004: Kyle Busch, third
Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Homestead: 1995: Jeff Fuller, eighth
1995: Curtis Markham, 10th
1997: Matt Kenseth, sixth
1998: Dave Blaney, sixth
1999: Hank Parker Jr., fourth
2000: Jimmie Johnson, sixth
2001: Greg Biffle, third
2001: Scott Wimmer, fourth
2004: Kyle Busch, third
2005: Jon Wood, sixth
2006: Todd Kluever, ninth
Raybestos® Rookies to lead a lap at Homestead: 1997: Steve Park (once for nine laps)
1999: Hank Parker, Jr. (led 32 laps)
2001: Scott Wimmer (once for 11 laps)
2004: Kyle Busch (once for three laps)
RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY A Raybestos® Rookie has won at least one race in each of the past FOUR consecutive seasons (2004-2007).
Danny O’Quinn Jr. narrowly edged John Andretti to win the 2006 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title in the NASCAR Busch 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. The 2006 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title was the second consecutive and third overall for Roush Fenway Racing in the Busch Series.
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 David Ragan 234
Marcos Ambrose 204
Kyle Krisiloff 181
Brad Keselowski 181
Brad Coleman 169
Juan Pablo Montoya 165
Robert Richardson Jr. 114
Justin Diercks 51
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
Aaron’s 312 Ragan, fourth
Circuit City 250 Montoya, 11th
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Ragan, 13th
CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 Ambrose, 20th
Dover 200 Ambrose, sixth
Federated Auto Parts 300 Ragan, seventh
Meijer 300 presented by Oreo Coleman, second
AT&T 250 Coleman, fourth
Camping World 200 Ragan, 18th
Winn-Dixie 250 Krisiloff, 20th
USG DUROCK 300 Keselowski, 14th
Busch 250 Ragan, fifth
Kroger 200 Keselowski, 10th
NAPA Auto Parts 200 Krisiloff, sixth
Zippo 200 at The Glen Coleman, fifth
CARFAX 250 Keselowski, 13th
Food City 250 Ragan, sixth
Camping World 300 Ragan, 10th
Emerson Radio 250 Ambrose, 15th
RoadLoans.com 200 Keselowski, seventh
Yellow Transportation 300 Krisiloff, 28th
Dollar General 300 Ragan, sixth
Sam’s Town 250 Ragan, third
O’Reilly Challenge Keselowski, sixth
ARIZONA.TRAVEL 200 Ambrose, 15th
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