10 Questions: Todd Kluever

In conjunction with its season-ending top 10 lists, NASCAR.COM asked a number of drivers to answer the same 10 questions. Saturday: Carl Edwards

Wisconsin native Todd Kluever has not allowed the beginning of what he hopes to be his dream NASCAR career, interrupt his regular routine.

	Todd Kluever Credit: 51Sports/Speed51.com
	VIDEO 10 Questions NASCAR.COM's Dave Rodman hits Todd Kluever with 10 questions

Kluever, 26, won owner Jack Roush's "Race for the Ride" competition last fall over a field of candidates that began as a stack of hundreds of resumes. But on the Tuesday night before New Year's Eve, Kluever was in the same position he is weekly: Shooting pool at a bar and grill he still owns.

Kluever took a break while driving to his establishment to answer 10 questions not specifically directed at his racing career.

1. What's your dream vehicle that you don't already own?

My dream vehicle would probably be the new Ford GT sports car that they have. That thing is pretty sweet and now that I'm part of the Ford Racing family, it's something that I hope to have someday.

But right now that's kind of the unobtainable vehicle that I'd love to have.

You know, I think Matt Kenseth was supposed to get one of those for winning the Winston Cup championship. You might have to get in line to get one that way, do you think?

(Laughing) I'd love to get my opportunity to try and win one. If Matt gets his, that would be great and I'd love my chance to try to get one, too.

2. If time on the road weren't an issue, what would be your ideal pet?

Probably a dog. I used to have a dog when I lived with my parents. When I started racing and got out on the road I just didn't have time to be at home and take care of a pet.

So if I could have anything, I'd just have a dog, you know? It would be something like a bigger style dog, like a Doberman or a Rottweiler or something on that kind of line.

3. What's your biggest pet peeve while driving on the road?

Probably people who don't do the speed limit. I think it's pretty rude, because you never know if the person behind you is running late or if they've got some kind of emergency going on.

So driving down the road doing 10 miles an hour under the speed limit gets kind of frustrating for the guy behind you.

4. Racing means traveling, so what's your worst hotel experience?

My worst hotel experience was when I was racing ASA and we went to Salem, Indiana. Somehow, some way the hotel we were supposed to be staying at had given away my team's rooms.

Todd Kluever Credit: 51Sports/Speed51.com

We rushed around trying to find something else and the only thing that we could find was at a very low budget hotel.

I'm not a big fan of bugs and insects and spiders and things of that nature. And as soon as I walked into my hotel room and pulled back the covers on my bed there was what looked like to me a tarantula on my pillow and it just freaked me out, ever since (laughing).

Did they give you a break on the room rate?

No (laughing). I didn't complain, man -- I just took all my sheets off and made sure there were no other spiders in my bed, and I went to bed. We got out of there the next day.

5. What's your favorite food?

My favorite food would have to be the all-American hamburger and French fries. You know, they're simple to make, it's simple for other people to make and they're always going to be about the same taste.

They fill you up, you know? And you can get them about anywhere.

Being on the road a lot, where's the best place to get a burger and fries?

Well, it wouldn't be right if I didn't say the best place to get a burger would be my bar and restaurant here in Deerfield, Wis. -- Nora's Tavern.

Home cooked, country style food (is our specialty). It's got to be the best place on the planet.

6. If you had to choose, would it be being honest, or being nice?

You know, I think both are important but I think if you are honest all the time people will respect you more. Sometimes, you know, honesty hurts, but I think in the long run it's probably true that honesty is the best policy.

7. What's your fondest childhood memory?

I would say, just pretty much growing up and spending time with my family -- my mom, my dad and my brother racing all over -- whether it was motorcycles or stock cars or whatever it was.

We got to spend a lot of time together as a family and as I look back on that (I think) a lot of people don't get to do that nowadays so I'm pretty happy about the time that we could spend together.

8. What would your dream date be? Where and with whom?

Man, I really don't know for a dream date (because) there's so many pretty women out there. Anywhere nice with the beach and warm weather and sunshine would be great.

There's so many beautiful women out there that I couldn't pick just one.

9. What's your worst prank, either perpetrated by you, or done to you?

You know what? When we were racing, on the road with my ASA team, we were always pulling pranks on one another. The guys were pretty good to me and they didn't pull too many pranks on me.

I've seen them pull some pretty nasty stuff on each other (but) all in all the stuff they did to me was pretty mellow. I guess one just doesn't really stick out in my head.

I was going to ask you, which was the worst one you could tell, but I guess we'll leave it alone, huh?

Well, like I said, to me the stuff wasn't very bad, but I had two guys on my crew that were going back and forth. We were in Pensacola, Fla., racing in an ASA race and it was about 110 degrees outside.

One of my guys spread Ben-Gay all over in the crotch area of the other one's fire suit that they had to wear all day for pit stops. They got pretty brutal with each other.

What were your pit stop times like, that day?

Ummm (laughing). It was so hot, but we were pretty good. My guys were always good on pit road, but they told me that in between pit stops that guy was just in the truck sitting in front of the air conditioner with his suit off.

He hated having to put it back on.

10. What would you consider your "Welcome to NASCAR" moment?

My welcome to NASCAR moment would have to be when -- actually either of two things.

The night before I got my phone call from (Roush Racing president) Geoff Smith telling me that I was taken as a Roush Racing driver and I was going to be driving one of the trucks; I talked to Mark Martin on the phone.

He called me and talked to me quite a bit and told me that he was pretty impressed with me -- pretty impressed with how I had run at the Race for the Ride stuff. We just kind of talked a little bit.

The next morning I received my phone call from Geoff Smith that said they wanted me to come and drive their truck. As far as right now -- that was probably my welcome to NASCAR moment.