Erik Darnell leads the Raybestos Rookie standings by 11 points (102-91) over Chad McCumbee entering the July 8 Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

Darnell is 16th in the Craftsman Truck Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos Rookie. He trails 15th-place Bobby Hamilton Jr. by 12 and 14th-place Brendan Gaughan by 26. Darnell leads 17th-place Mark Martin by 106 points and leads 18th-place Aric Almirola by 108.

Todd Kluever was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Built Ford Tough 225, posting a 12th-place finish on the lead lap.

DID YOU KNOW? Carl Edwards is the only Raybestos Rookie to score a win in five Craftsman Truck Series races at Kentucky. Edwards won the 2003 event by 3.568 seconds ahead of Ted Musgrave. He led the race only once, covering the final 40 laps. Travis Kvapil is the only other Raybestos Rookie to score a top-five at Kentucky, grabbing a fourth-place finish in 2001. The best start by a Raybestos Rookie at Kentucky is second, shared by Ricky Hendrick (2001) and Todd Kluever (2005).

Raybestos Rookies that have led a lap at Kentucky:
2000: Kurt Busch (once for 12 laps)
2001: Jon Wood (once for two laps)
2003: Carl Edwards (once for 40 laps)
2003: Jody Lavender (once for one lap)
2004: Shane Sieg (once for one lap)

The most Raybestos Rookies to finish in the top-10 at Kentucky is FOUR in 2001: Kvapil, Ricky Hendrick (sixth), Jon Wood (seventh), and Billy Bigley (10th).

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos Rookies at Kentucky:
2001: Travis Kvapil, fourth
2001: Rick Hendrick, sixth
2001: Jon Wood, seventh
2001: Billy Bigley, 10th
2001: Nathan Haseleu, 10th
2003: Carl Edwards, FIRST
2004: David Reutimann, ninth
2004: Robert Huffman, 10th

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 - 102
Chad McCumbee - 91
Aric Almirola - 90
Kyle Krisiloff - 70
Joey Miller - 68
Erin Crocker - 68
Boston Reid - 65
Bobby East - 63
Marcos Ambrose - 57
Kerry Earnhardt - 52
Kraig Kinser - 42
Robert Richardson - 38
Scott Lagasse Jr. - 28
Michel Jourdain Jr. - 13
Ryan Moore - 13
Sean Murphy - 12
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
O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 - Ambrose, third