Catchfence

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS

– NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

- Justin Allgaier was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the March 21 Scotts Turf Builder 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Allgaier scored a fifth-place finish, his first top-five in eight NASCAR Nationwide Series races and his second consecutive top-10. He claimed Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the first time this season and became the first freshman driver to finish in the top-five since 2005.

- Brendan Gaughan won the pole at Bristol, his first in five Nationwide Series starts. Gaughan’s best previous qualifying effort was 11th-place earlier this season at Auto Club (Fontana, Calif.) Speedway (race No. 2).

- Two Raybestos® Rookies led at Bristol: Gaughan and Michael Annett. Gaughan led once for six laps and has led at least one lap in the last two consecutive races. Annett led once for one lap, the first lap he had led in five career Nationwide Series starts.

- DID YOU KNOW? At least one Raybestos® Rookie has now scored top-10 finishes in three of the first four races this season.

· Allgaier leads Brendan Gaughan by one point (45-44) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the April 4 O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

- Dario Franchitti was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2008 O’Reilly 300, scoring an 11th-place finish. Franchitti also led the race once for one lap and was the only first-year driver to lead the race.

DID YOU KNOW? Only once in 16 previous Nationwide Series races at Texas have THREE Raybestos® Rookies finished inside the top-10. Sorenson, Carl Edwards (fourth) and Jon Wood (eighth) accomplished the feat in the 2005 O’Reilly 300.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in 16 previous Nationwide Series races at Texas is second by Kyle Busch in 2004. Busch finished second behind Matt Kenseth in a race that ended under caution.

Raybestos® Rookie pole winners at Texas (all 16 races):

2000: Jason Leffler (spring race)

2004: Kyle Busch (spring race)

2007: David Ragan (sprint race)

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in O’Reilly 300:

2002: Scott Riggs, fourth

2003: Chad Blount, fifth

2004: Kyle Busch, second

2005: Reed Sorenson, third

2005: Carl Edwards, fourth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in O’Reilly 300:

2000: Kevin Harvick, ninth

2001: Greg Biffle, seventh

2002: Scott Riggs, fourth

2003: Chad Blount, fifth

2004: Kyle Busch, second

2005: Reed Sorenson, third

2005: Carl Edwards, fourth

2005: Jon Wood, eighth

DID YOU KNOW? Only two Raybestos® Rookies have led the most laps in a Nationwide Series race at Texas: Kyle Busch (2004) and Kevin Harvick (2000). Busch led four times for 147 laps, the most laps led by a rookie in 16 races at Texas. Harvick led twice for 67 laps in 2000.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER POINTS

Justin Allgaier 45

Brendan Gaughan 44

Michael McDowell 37

Scott Lagasse Jr. 36

Michael Annett 30

John Wes Townley 29

Ken Butler 14

Marc Davis 6

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE

EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE

Camping World 300 Michael McDowell, 14th

Stater Bros. 300 Brendan Gaughan, ninth

Sam’s Town 300 Michael McDowell, sixth

Food City 500 Justin Allgaier, fifth

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a Nationwide Series race is Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya captured the 2007 Corona Mexico 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Mexico City, Mexico), crossing the finish line .750 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin (71 races).

· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Nationwide Series is Brendan Gaughan. Gaughan captured the top starting spot for the 2009 Scotts Turf Builder 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (one race).

· Landon Cassill won the 2008 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Cassill finished the season with one pole and five top-10 finishes in 19 starts. He grabbed the top starting spot for the Camping World RV Sales 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (race No. 18). His best finishes were sixth-place efforts at Gateway (Madison, Ill.) International Raceway and Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.

· The most recent streak for at least two Raybestos® Rookies to rank inside the top-10 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings is 21 consecutive races (2007 race at Kentucky Speedway, race No. 16, through 2008 Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, race No. 1).

· Roush Fenway Racing has won THREE OF THE LAST FOUR Raybestos® Rookie of the Year titles in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and FOUR since 2001.

2007: David Ragan

2006: Danny O’Quinn Jr.

2005: Carl Edwards

2001: Greg Biffle

- Danny O’Quinn Jr. narrowly edged John Andretti to win the 2006 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. O’Quinn Jr. finished one point higher than Andretti in the final standings, the closet margin in NASCAR national series history. He also became the second driver in series history to win the award without completing the full schedule.

- Kyle Busch posted a record-setting year on his way to the 2004 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year title. In 34 starts, Busch won five times, captured five poles and scored 16 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes. His second-place finish in the Nationwide Series championship standings is a record for a Raybestos® Rookie. Other Raybestos® Rookie records Busch owns or shares: most starts (34), most wins (tied with Greg Biffle), most top fives (tied with Greg Biffle), most top 10s, most money won ($2,027,050), most championship points (4,943), most laps led (1,108) and most races led (21).

- David Stremme holds the record for fewest starts by a driver to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. In 2003, he started just 18 of the 34 races and was the top rookie finisher in 16 of those starts. Stremme scored three top-three finishes and had more top-10 finishes (seven) than any other first-year driver. He led six races for a total of 86 laps.

- David Green was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a Nationwide Series race, at Lanier, Ga., in 1991. Green captured the Nestle 200 by 1.58-seconds over Jeff Gordon, a fellow Raybestos® Rookie. A third Raybestos® Rookie, Todd Bodine, placed eighth in the race.

- Dennis Setzer was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win TWO or more races in a season. In 1994, he won the Ford Credit 300 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and The Pantry 300 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

- Steve Park was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win THREE or more races in a season. In 1997, he won the BellSouth Mobility/Opryland 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Speedway, the Detroit Gasket 200 at Michigan International Speedway and the Autolite Platinum 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

- Kenny Wallace was the first Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole in the Nationwide Series. Wallace grabbed the top starting spot for the 1989 Goody’s 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the first race in the history of the Raybestos® Rookie of the Year program.

- Raybestos® brand brake and chassis parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake and Chassis Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems and chassis parts in the transportation industry. The brake line includes everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes and hydraulic parts, while the chassis line features tie rods, ball points, idler arms and sway bar links. Raybestos brand braking and chassis systems are also the only systems used by NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing in competition. For more information about Raybestos brakes, visit Raybestos.com. For more information on Raybestos Chassis visit RaybestosChassis.com

Affinia Group Inc. is a global leader in the on and off-highway replacement products and service industry. In North America the Affinia family of brands includes WIX® Filters, Raybestos®, AIMCO® and BrakePro® brake products, and McQuay-Norris® and Raybestos™ Chassis parts. South American and European brands include Nakata®, Filtron®, Urba® and Quinton Hazell®. For more information, visit affiniagroup.com.

*Affinia Group Inc.’s affiliated companies include Brake Parts Inc. WIX Filtration Corp LLC, Affinia Products Corp LLC and other high quality manufacturers of the Affinia family of brands.

- Camp & Associates, Inc. Press Release