Catchfence

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS

– NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

· Justin Allgaier was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the April 4 O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Allgaier scored a 10th-place finish, his third top-10 in five races this season and claimed Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the second consecutive race.

· Allgaier leads Brendan Gaughan by eight points (57-49) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the April 11 NASCAR Nationwide 300 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

· Allgaier is fifth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings, 12 points behind fourth-place Jason Leffler and 24 ahead of sixth-place Kevin Harvick.

DID YOU KNOW? THREE Raybestos® Rookies rank inside the top-10 in the Nationwide Series championship standings: Allgaier, Gaughan (eighth) and Scott Lagasse Jr. (10th).

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

· Cale Gale was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide 300 at Nashville, claiming an eighth-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW? In 15 previous Nationwide Series races at Nashville, THREE Raybestos® Rookies have won pole positions, two coming in the spring race:

2002: Shane Hmiel (Nationwide 300)

2005: Reed Sorenson (Nationwide 300)

2006: Todd Kluever (Federated Auto Parts 300)

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has won THREE Nationwide Series races at Nashville Superspeedway, all coming in the Nationwide 300 (spring race):

2001: Greg Biffle

2002: Scott Riggs

2005: Reed Sorenson

DID YOU KNOW? Reed Sorenson holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in a Nationwide Series race at Nashville. Sorenson led three times for 197 laps in the 2005 Nationwide 300.

Only TWICE in 15 previous Nationwide Series races at Nashville have TWO Raybestos® Rookies finish in the top-five:

2001 Nationwide 300: Greg Biffle (first) and Scott Wimmer (third).

2005 Nationwide 300: Reed Sorenson (first) and Carl Edwards (fourth)

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Nashville:

2001 Nationwide 300: Greg Biffle (first), Scott Wimmer (third).

2002 Nationwide 300: Scott Riggs (first).

2003 Federated 300: David Stremme (third).

2004 Nationwide 300: Clint Bowyer (fourth)

2004 Federated 300: Clint Bowyer (third)

2005 Nationwide 300: Reed Sorenson (first), Carl Edwards (fourth)

2005 Federated 300: Reed Sorenson (third)

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Nashville:

2001 Nationwide 300: Greg Biffle (first), Scott Riggs (third)

2002 Nationwide 300: Scott Riggs (first), Kerry Earnhardt (eighth)

2002 Federated 300: Shane Hmiel (ninth), Casey Mears (10th)

2003 Nationwide 300: David Stremme (seventh), Chad Blount (eighth)

2003 Federated 300: David Stremme (third).

2004 Nationwide 300: Clint Bowyer (fourth) and Kyle Busch (sixth)

2004 Federated 300: Clint Bowyer (third) and J.J. Yeley (eighth)

2005 Nationwide 300: Reed Sorenson (first), Carl Edwards (fourth) and Denny Hamlin (ninth)

2005 Federated 300: Reed Sorenson (third), Denny Hamlin (seventh) and Paul Wolfe (10th).

2006 Nationwide300: Burney Lamar (seventh)

2006 Federated 300: Danny O’Quinn Jr. (10th)

2007 Federated 300: David Ragan, seventh

2008 Nationwide 300: Cale Gale, eighth

2008 Federated 300: Landon Cassill, ninth

THREE Raybestos® Rookies have led the most laps in 15 Nationwide Series races at Nashville.

2001: Greg Biffle (Nationwide 300)

2004: Clint Bowyer (Federated 300)

2005: Reed Sorenson (Nationwide 300)

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER POINTS

Justin Allgaier 57

Brendan Gaughan 49

Scott Lagasse Jr. 45

Michael McDowell 45

Michael Annett 40

John Wes Townley 35

Ken Butler 14

Peyton Sellers 7

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

O’Reilly 300 Justin Allgaier, 10th

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 (72 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 (two races).

· 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.

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*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