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One out of 17 are pretty good odds when a free car is on the line.

That's what it came down to Tuesday in the second annual drawing to reward Albuquerque Public Schools students with perfect attendance.

Initially, district officials thought more than 100 high school students with perfect attendance this year would qualify for the drawing sponsored by the DiLorenzo Family, which owns Quality Pontiac GMC Buick and Quality Jeep Chrysler.

Verification and senior ditch day knocked it down to 42. But you had to show up to win, and in the end just 17 students showed their ID in exchange for a bingo ball.

Anthony Arias, lucky No. 25, walked away with the car.

Wearing blue jeans, a navy blue shirt, a black baseball cap and his Valley Viking wristband, Arias opted for the green 2006 Chrysler Sebring instead of the red PT Cruiser.

Arias, 17 and a senior next year, maintains 4.2 grade-point average, plays basketball and has had his driver's license for almost a year. Never missing class, he even tries to arrive at school 25 minutes early.

He wants to be a mechanical engineer, because he likes and excels in math and science.

Arias plans on getting perfect attendance again next year.

"I don't like ditching. You always get caught, so why try?" he said.

Does he ever go to school sick?

"Not dying sick, but I had the flu once," he said.

Arias said the first thing he is going to do is show off the car to his family. His uncle lives across the street from him, and his grandmother, Georgia, had this message on hearing of his prize: "You better thank God from the bottom of your heart."

Arias' proud dad, Carlos Arias, said he and his wife "argue" about which of them the teen gets his motivation and intelligence from.

Anthony Arias isn't the only student to win a car this year with his perfect attendance.

The Rio Grande High winner of a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero is Daniel Muñoz, a sophomore. He won that school's drawing last month.

This is the second year the DiLorenzos have sponsored their drawing. CarGard threw in an extended care contract and Mike Mazella Insurance will provide a year of coverage for free.

Kathleen DiLorenzo likes the car giveaway because it gives an opportunity for good students to get some attention. She says she's tired of hearing negative things about teens, but as she puts it "the ones who make the most noise get the most attention."

Her daughter, Annette DiLorenzo Thayer, said she came up with the idea after brainstorming with friends about giving kids an incentive to stay in school.

DiLorenzo Thayer said she missed just one day of high school in four years - perfect attendance for three out of four years.

"All we got was a certificate, big whoop!" she said.