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NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDERS

– NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

Michael McDowell was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the August 1 U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. McDowell scored an eighth-place finish, his fourth top-10 of the season. He claimed top rookie honors for the fifth time in 2009 and occupies 11th-place in the series championship standings.

Scott Lagasse Jr. posted a ninth-place finish at Iowa, his fourth top-10 of the season.

Justin Allgaier was the only Raybestos® Rookie to lead a lap at Iowa, holding the top spot once for 35 laps. Allgaier leads Brendan Gaughan by 10 points (193-183) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the August 8 Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Allgaier is fifth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos® Rookie.

Gaughan (10th-place) is the only other Raybestos® Rookies in the top-10 in the series standings.

FOUR RACES, FOUR DIFFERENT FACES: A different driver has earned Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors in each of the last FOUR consecutive races.

DID YOU KNOW? At least one Raybestos® Rookie has scored a top-10 finish in 19 of the 21 NASCAR Nationwide Series races this season.

TWO Raybestos® Rookies have won pole positions during the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season: Gaughan and Erik Darnell.

Dario Franchitti was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2008 Zippo 200 at The Glen, scoring a fifth-place finish.

Franchitti won the pole last year at Watkins Glen and is the only Raybestos® Rookie pole winner in 15 previous races 2.45-mile road course.

DID YOU KNOW? Franchitti holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie at Watkins Glen, holding the top spot twice for 18 laps.

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has scored THREE consecutive top-five finishes at Watkins Glen.

DID YOU KNOW? Greg Biffle owns the best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie at Watkins Glen. Biffle claimed a second-place finish in 2001, 2.462 seconds behind race winner Ron Fellows.

Curtis Markham was the first Raybestos® Rookie to score a top 10 at Watkins Glen, claiming an eighth-place finish in 1995.

DID YOU KNOW? The most Raybestos® Rookies to finish inside the top-10 in a Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen are THREE in 2000.

Top-five finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Watkins Glen:

2000: Kevin Harvick, third

2001: Greg Biffle, second

2006: John Andretti, fifth

2007: Brad Coleman, fifth

2008: Dario Franchitti, fifth

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Watkins Glen:

1995: Curtis Markham, eighth

1997: Steve Park, sixth

1999: Hank Parker Jr., 10th

2000: Kevin Harvick, third

2000: Jay Sauter, eighth

2000: P.J. Jones, ninth

2001: Greg Biffle, second

2006: John Andretti, fifth

2007: Brad Coleman, fifth

2008: Dario Franchitti, fifth

Raybestos® Rookies that have led a lap at Watkins Glen:

1997: Steve Park (once for one lap)

2000: Ron Hornaday (once for 11 laps)

2000: P.J. Jones (once for seven laps)

2001: Greg Biffle (four times for 10 laps)

2001: David Donohue (once for one lap)

2008: Dario Franchitti (twice for 18 laps)

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER POINTS

Justin Allgaier 193

Brendan Gaughan 183

Michael McDowell 172

Scott Lagasse Jr. 153

Michael Annett 143

John Wes Townley 105

Erik Darnell 104

Ken Butler III 67

Terry Cook 25

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 250 Justin Allgaier, fifth

O’Reilly 300 Justin Allgaier, 10th

Nashville 300 Scott Lagasse Jr., 10th

Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Brendan Gaughan, seventh

Aaron’s 312 Scott Lagasse Jr., eighth

Lipton Tea 250 Michael McDowell, eighth

Diamond Hill Plywood Erik Darnell, fourth

CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 Brendan Gaughan, second

Heluva Good! 200 Justin Allgaier, 10th

Federated Auto Parts 300 Michael McDowell, eighth

Meijer 300 Brendan Gaughan, fourth

Northern Tool.com 250 Erik Darnell, fourth

Camping World RV Sales 200 Erik Darnell, ninth

Subway Jalapeno 250 Justin Allgaier, eighth

Dollar General 300 Justin Allgaier, 10th

Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Michael Annett, seventh

Kroger 200 Brendan Gaughan, 12th

U.S. Cellular 250 Michael McDowell, eighth

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 (88 races).

· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Nationwide Series is Erik Darnell. Darnell captured the top starting spot for the 2009 Northern Tool.com 250 at The Milwaukee (Wisc.) Mile (seven 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