Todd Kluever battled a tight truck and a head cold to claim his 11th top-10 finish of the season at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night.  He finished 10th and closed-in on the top 10 in the point standings.

Kluever started the race in fifth place after turning a lap of 182.420 mph in qualifying Thursday night.  Within the first few laps of the race he told the team his No. 50 World Financial Group Ford F-150 was tight, especially coming off turn two.  He fell back to seventh place until he could pit for adjustments to free-up the truck.

He brought the truck into the pits on lap 40 during the second caution of the race.  The team changed four tires, added fuel and pulled a rubber from the left-rear spring and sent Kluever back out in seventh place.

The truck was still tight so when the next caution came on lap 61 for a spin on the frontstretch, Kluever pitted again for more changes.  This time the team gave him four tires, fuel and raised the track bar.  Some of the lead trucks did not pit, or only took fuel, so Kluever was 13th when the race resumed on lap 67.

Within 10 laps Kluever said the truck was still too tight.  The team knew the next pit stop would likely be their last of the night so the adjustments they planned would have to be enough to get Kluever to the end of the race.  He worked his way up to 11th place before the fourth caution came on lap 86.

Kluever brought the truck into the pits for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment to free-up the truck.  The team had a quick 16.2-second stop which kept him in 11th place.  The race resumed on lap 90 and Kluever was determined to gain as many positions as he could in the closing laps.

He moved into 10th place on lap 115, although the truck was still tight and he really struggled coming off turn two.  With 30 laps to go he moved up to ninth and was able to maintain it until Bobby Hamilton passed him with four laps to go.  Kluever held on to finish 10th while Todd Bodine won the race.

"It was a decent run," Kluever said.  "We just could never get the truck free enough to turn.  It's not how we're used to running lately, but I'll still take my bad days being a 10th-place truck over 25ths and 35ths that we had earlier this year.  I'm definitely more comfortable with this place now and we ran better, so it's more experience.  The next time I come back I'll be a little better and more educated on what I need my car to do in race trim.  We also gained some points tonight and we're still determined to finish this season in the top 10."

The top-10 finish helped Kluever maintain 12th place in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings, and is now just 18 points out of 10th place.  He continues to lead the Raybestos Rookie of the Year point standings.