Kyle Busch was the 2004 Raybestos Rookie of the Year in the
NASCAR Busch Series. Busch finished the season with five poles, five
wins, 16 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes in 34 starts. He was the
Raybestos Rookie of the Race in 25 races this season. He is the 16th
winner of the award since the program’s inception in 1989. Busch won
the award by 142 points over Clint Bowyer (388-246).
The 19-year old Las Vegas, Nevada native is the youngest
Raybestos Rookie of the Year in the history of the program.
Busch finished second in the Busch Series championship standings,
the best championship finish ever by a Raybestos Rookie.
Busch led the series championship standings for three weeks. He
took the point lead for the first time in his career after race number
11, the May event at Richmond. He was in the top-10 in points from
race number 5 at Bristol through the end of the season.
Busch now owns or shares SEVEN all time Raybestos Rookie records:
best championship finish (second), most poles (5), most top-10s (22),
most laps led (1,108), and most races led (21). He tied 2001
Raybestos Rookie of the Year Greg Biffle’s record for most wins (5)
and most top-fives (16).
Busch led 42 times in 21 races for a total of 1,390.89 miles,
(1,108 laps) the most by any driver in the Busch Series this season.
This is the first time since the program was created in 1989 that a
Raybestos Rookie has led the most miles. Busch led the most laps in
seven races this season.
Raybestos ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS
DRIVER, POINTS
Kyle Busch, 388
Clint Bowyer, 246
Paul Menard, 231
J.J. Yeley, 219
Billy Parker, 105
HIGHEST FINISHING Raybestos ROOKIE BY RACE
EVENT HIGHEST FINISHING ROOKIE
Hershey’s Kisses 300 Kyle Busch, 24th
Goody’s Headache Powder 200 Kyle Busch, seventh
Sam’s Town 300 Kyle Busch, 15th
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Kyle Busch, 17th
Sharpie Professional 250 Kyle Busch, third
O’Reilly 300 Kyle Busch, second
Pepsi 300 Clint Bowyer, fourth
Aaron’s 312 Kyle Busch, fourth
Stater Bros. 300 Kyle Busch, seventh
Charter 250 Kyle Busch, fifth
Funai 250 Kyle Busch, first
Goulds Pumps 200 Kyle Busch, 10th
Carquest Auto Parts 300 Kyle Busch, first
MBNA America 200 Kyle Busch, fifth
Federated Auto Parts 300 Clint Bowyer, third
Meijer 300 Kyle Busch, first
Alan Kulwicki 250 Clint Bowyer, 10th
Winn-Dixie 250 Kyle Busch, 11th
Tropicana Twister 300 J.J. Yeley, ninth
Siemens 200 Paul Menard, 18th
Goulds Pumps ITT Industries 250 Clint Bowyer, ninth
Kroger 200 Kyle Busch, first
Cabela’s 250 Kyle Busch, first
Food City 250 Kyle Busch, third
Target House 300 Kyle Busch, ninth
Emerson Radio 250 Kyle Busch, fifth
Stacker 200 Kyle Busch, ninth
Mr. Goodcents 300 J.J. Yeley, sixth
SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300 Kyle Busch, fifth
Sam’s Town 250 Clint Bowyer, fourth
Aaron’s 312 Kyle Busch, second
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Kyle Busch, second
Darlington 200 Paul Menard, 12th
Ford 300 Kyle Busch, third
(Camp and Assoc./Raybestos PR)(11-26-2004)
