Todd Kluever was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the September 24 Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, grabbing an eighth-place finish.  He scored his eighth top-10 finish this season and took top rookie honors for the 14th time in 20 races.

Kluever maintains a comfortable lead over Timothy Peters in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the October 22 Kroger 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.  He leads Peters by 73 points (223-150).

Kluever is 14th in Craftsman Truck Series points, 28 behind 13th-place Terry Cook and 29 behind 12th-place Ricky Craven.  He leads 15th-place Rick Crawford by one point.

The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a Craftsman Truck Series race: Carl Edwards, who won the 2003 Federated Auto Parts 200 by 1.209 seconds over Ted Musgrave at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position for a Craftsman Truck Series race: David Reutimann, who won the pole for the 2004 Ford 200 at Homestead (Fla.)-Miami Speedway.  Reutimann logged a lap of 171.255 mph to win the top starting spot.

The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap: Kluever, who led once for two laps in the July 2 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway (race No. 12).

Season Tidbits:

Kluever owns the best finish and best start by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Craftsman Truck Series this season.  He has finished second twice: .418 seconds behind Dennis Setzer at Indianapolis Raceway Park (race No. 15) and .387 seconds behind Todd Bodine at Kansas.  Kluever grabbed the second starting position for race No. 13 at Kentucky Speedway alongside pole winner Bill Lester.

Kerry Earnhardt is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in 2005.  He grabbed the top starting spot for the season-opening Florida Dodge Dealers 250, his first pole in his first Craftsman Truck Series start.

Four Raybestos® Rookies have led a lap this season:

• Regan Smith (three times in one race for four laps, 10 miles)
• Kluever (once in one race for two laps, three miles)
• Earnhardt (one lap, 2.5 miles)
• Sean Murphy (one lap, 1.54 miles)

Raybestos® Rookies at Martinsville Speedway:

Robert Huffman was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2004 Kroger 200 at Martinsville, grabbing a 10th-place finish.  Huffman and Brandon Whitt (12th) were the only first-year drivers who completed the full distance last season at Martinsville.

A Raybestos® Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in each of the two Craftsman Truck Series races held in the fall at Martinsville: Huffman and Edwards, who finished second (under yellow) to Jon Wood in 2003.  Edwards led the race once for three laps.

Edwards is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole in two previous fall truck series races at Martinsville, grabbing the top starting spot in 2003.

Raybestos® Rookie History

• The most Raybestos® Rookies to win a race in a single season is THREE in 1997: Kenny Irwin, Tony Raines and Randy Tolsma.
• The most poles by a Raybestos® Rookie is four (Greg Biffle in 1998 and Kurt Busch in 2000).
• Busch holds the record for best championship finish (2nd), most wins (four) and most money won ($745,632).
• The record for most top fives by a Raybestos® Rookie is 13 (shared by Busch and Edwards).
• The record for most top-10 finishes by a Raybestos® Rookie is 19, by Ricky Hendrick in 2001.
• Three drivers from Roush Racing have won Raybestos® Rookie of the Year while competing in the Craftsman Truck Series: Edwards (2003), Biffle (1998) and Busch (2000).
• Irwin was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a race in the Craftsman Truck Series.  He captured the Florida Dodge Dealers 400K at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 16, 1997.  Irwin took the checkered flag by .289 seconds over Mike Bliss.
• Irwin also holds the record for quickest win by a Raybestos® Rookie in the Craftsman Truck Series, scoring his first career victory at Homestead in just his third career start.

Raybestos® Rookie Contender Point Standings
Todd Kluever: 223
Timothy Peters: 150
Shige Hattori: 100

Highest-Finishing Raybestos® Rookie by Race
Florida Dodge Dealers 250: Murphy, 24th
American Racing Wheels 200: Kluever, fourth
World Financial Group 200: Murphy, 13th
Kroger 250: Kluever, 16th
Dodge Ram Tough 200: Peters, 16th
UAW/GM Ohio 250: Kluever, fourth
Quaker Steak and Lube 200: Kluever, 20th
MBNA RacePoints 200: Peters, sixth
Chex 400K: Kite, 24th
Paramount Health Insurance 200: Kluever, 15th
Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200: Kluever, ninth
O'Reilly Auto Parts 250: Kluever, second
Built Ford Tough 225: Kluever, 12th
O'Reilly 200: Kluever, 10th
Power Stroke Diesel 200: Kluever, second
Toyota Tundra 200: Kluever, fifth
O'Reilly 200: Kluever, 13th
Cheerios Betty Crocker 200: Peters, 29th
Sylvania 300: Kluever, 28th
Las Vegas 350: Kluever, eighth