Erik Darnell was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the August 4 Power Stroke Diesel 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Darnell finished 10th, his third consecutive top-10 finish and sixth of the 2006 season. He took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the eighth time in 15 races.

Darnell stretched his lead in the Raybestos Rookie standings to 32 points (146-114) over second-place Chad McCumbee entering the August 12 Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

At least one Raybestos Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in each of the last FOUR Craftsman Truck Series races.

Marcos Ambrose won the pole position for the July 8 Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway (race No. 13). Ambrose claimed his first career pole in his 10th start in the series. He led the race twice for 49 laps to claim WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors. Ambrose is the only Raybestos Rookie to capture the award this season.

Darnell is 13th in the Craftsman Truck Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos Rookie. He trails 12th-place Matt Crafton by 131 points and leads 14th-place Brendan Gaughan by 24.

Todd Kluever was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2005 Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville, grabbing a fifth-place finish.

Carl Edwards is the only Raybestos Rookie to win at Nashville in five Craftsman Truck Series races. He took the checkered flag by 1.209 seconds over Ted Musgrave in 2003. Edwards is also the only Raybestos Rookie to lead the most laps at Nashville, holding the top spot twice for 76 of the 150 laps.

Travis Kvapil is the only other Raybestos Rookie to log a top-five finish at Nashville, scoring a fifth-place finish in 2001.

A Raybestos Rookie has finished in the top 10 in all five truck series races at Nashville:
2001: Travis Kvapil, fifth
2002: Brendan Gaughan, sixth
2003: Carl Edwards, first
2004: Robert Huffman, eighth
2004: David Reutimann, ninth
2005: Todd Kluever, fifth

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.
• 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 - 146
Chad McCumbee - 114
Aric Almirola - 111
Joey Miller - 87
Bobby East - 83
Boston Reid - 82
Erin Crocker - 74
Marcos Ambrose - 71
Kyle Krisiloff - 70
Kerry Earnhardt - 63
Kraig Kinser - 57
Robert Richardson - 43
Scott Lagasse Jr. - 33
Michel Jourdain Jr. - 24
Ryan Moore - 19
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
Built Ford Tough 225 - Darnell, ninth
O'Reilly 200 - Darnell, second
Power Stroke Diesel 200 - Darnell, 10th