Aric Almirola was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the June 23 Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 at The Milwaukee (West Allis, Wis.) Mile. Almirola finished 13th and took top rookie honors for the fourth time this season. He qualified fifth, his best effort in 15 career Craftsman Truck Series starts.

Marcos Ambrose posted a respectable 18th-place finish at The Milwaukee Mile, his best in eight career starts.

Erik Darnell leads the Raybestos Rookie standings by 15 points (98-83) over Almirola entering the July 1 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway.

Darnell is 13th in the Craftsman Truck Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos Rookie. He trails 10th-place Ron Hornaday Jr. by 198 points and leads 14th-place Mike Skinner by two.

Todd Kluever was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2005 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas. Kluever finished second in the race, 3.993 seconds behind race winner Dennis Setzer.

Did You Know? Ricky Hendrick is the only Raybestos Rookie to win a Craftsman Truck Series race at Kansas. Hendrick captured the 2001 event by 2.841 seconds over Ted Musgrave.

• The record number of Raybestos Rookies to finish in the top-10 at Kansas is FIVE in 2001.
• The most Raybestos Rookies to lead a lap in a race at Kansas is FOUR in 2001.
• The best qualifying effort by a Raybestos Rookie is second by Ricky Hendrick in 2001.

Raybestos Rookies that have led a lap at Kansas:

2001: Ricky Hendrick (three times for 32 laps)
2001: Jon Wood (twice for 12 laps)
2001: Travis Kvapil (once for three laps)
2001: Billy Bigley (once for two laps)
2003: Carl Edwards (once for three laps)
2005: Todd Kluever (once for two laps)

Top-five finishes by Raybestos Rookies at Kansas:

2001: Ricky Hendrick, first
2001: Jon Wood, fourth
2001: Billy Bigley, fifth
2003: Carl Edwards, second
2005: Todd Kluever, second

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos Rookies at Kansas:

2001: Ricky Hendrick, first
2001: Jon Wood, fourth
2001: Billy Bigley, fifth
2001: Travis Kvapil, sixth
2001: Nathan Haseleu, 10th
2003: Carl Edwards, second
2005: Todd Kluever, ninth

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 Carl Edwards).
• The record for most top-10 finishes by a Raybestos Rookie is 19, by Ricky Hendrick in 2001.
• 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

Driver - Points
Erik Darnell - 98
Aric Almirola - 83
Chad McCumbee - 81
Joey Miller - 66
Boston Reid - 63
Kyle Krisiloff - 62
Erin Crocker - 59
Bobby East - 57
Kerry Earnhardt - 47
Kraig Kinser - 40
Marcos Ambrose - 38
Robert Richardson - 35
Scott Lagasse Jr. - 28
Sean Murphy - 12
Michel Jourdain Jr. - 11
Ryan Moore - 11
J.R. Patton - 4
Tam Topham - 1

Highest-Finishing Raybestos Rookie by Race

Event - Highest Finishing Rookie
GM FlexFuel 250 - Darnell, sixth
racetickets.com 200 - Darnell, 11th
John Deere 200 - Darnell, eighth
Kroger 250 - Darnell, 11th
Ram Tough 200 - Almirola, 10th
Quaker Steak and Lube 200 - Almirola, ninth
City of Mansfield 250 - Miller, fifth
AAA Insurance 200 - Almirola, 12th
Sam's Town 400 - McCumbee, ninth
Con-way Freight 200 - Darnell, 12th
Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 - Almirola, 13th