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Scott Speed was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the September 27 AAA 400 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Speed scored a 25th-place finish and took top rookie honors for the sixth time this season.

Joey Logano leads Scott Speed by 24 points (217-193) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the October 4 Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway.

DID YOU KNOW? All three members of the 2009 Raybestos® Rookie class have scored at least one top-10 finish.

Patrick Carpentier was the Raybestos® Rookie of the race in the 2008 Price Chopper 400, scoring a 29th-place finish. Carpentier was the only first-year driver to lead the race, holding the top spot once for three laps.

DID YOU KNOW? The best finish by a Raybestos® Rookie in eight previous NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas is second by Ryan Newman in 2002. Newman finished .618 seconds behind race winner Jeff Gordon and is the only Raybestos® Rookie to finish inside the top-five at Kansas Speedway.

DID YOU KNOW? Jason Leffler is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole in eight races at Kansas Speedway. Leffler took the top starting spot in the race in the inaugural Price Chopper 400 in 2001.

DID YOU KNOW? At least one Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top 10 in five of the eight races at Kansas, but only once have TWO or more freshman drivers finished inside the top-10: Newman and Jimmie Johnson (10th) in 2002.

Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies in the Price Chopper 400:
2001: Kurt Busch, ninth

2002: Ryan Newman, second

2002: Jimmie Johnson, 10th

2003: Jamie McMurray, eighth

2004: Brendan Gaughan, 10th

2006: Clint Bowyer, ninth

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has led at least one lap in five of the eight previous NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas:
2001: JasonLeffler (once for eight laps)

2002: Ryan Newman (twice for 81 laps)

2004: Kasey Kahne (four times for 39 laps)

2005: Travis Kvapil (once for one lap)

2006: Clint Bowyer (twice for 17 laps)

2008: Patrick Carpentier (once for three laps)

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER POINTS
Joey Logano 217

Scott Speed 193

Max Papis 103

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE

EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE

Daytona 500 Scott Speed, 35th

Auto Club 500 Joey Logano, 26th

Shelby 427 Joey Logano, 13th

Kobalt Tools 500 Joey Logano, 30th

Food City 500 Scott Speed, 28th

Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 Joey Logano, 32nd

Samsung 500 Joey Logano, 30th

Subway Fresh Fit 500 Joey Logano, 21st

Aaron’s 499 Scott Speed, fifth

Crown Royal 400 Joey Logano, 19th

Southern 500 Joey Logano, ninth

Coca-Cola 600 Joey Logano, ninth

Autism Speaks 400 Joey Logano, 15th

Pocono 500 Joey Logano, 23rd

LifeLock 400 Joey Logano, 25th

Toyota/Save Mart 350 Max Papis, 12th

LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Joey Logano, FIRST!

Coke Zero 400 Joey Logano, 19th

LifeLock.com 400 Joey Logano, 18th

Allstate 400 at The Brickyard Joey Logano, 12th

Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Scott Speed, 23rd

Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen Max Papis, eighth

CARFAX 400 Joey Logano, seventh

Sharpie 500 Scott Speed, 15th

Pep Boys Auto 500 Joey Logano, 22nd

Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Joey Logano, 14th

Sylvania 300 Joey Logano, 21st

AAA 400 Scott Speed, 25th

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

· Regan Smith won 2008 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, edging Sam Hornish Jr. by seven points (236-229). Smith became the first Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the 52-year history of the program without a DNF (did not finish). He was running at the finish in all 34 starts he made during the season.

· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a Sprint Cup Series race is Joey Logano. Montoya captured the 2009 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway ahead of second-place Jeff Gordon (12 races).

· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Sprint Cup Series is Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier captured the top starting spot for the 2008 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (48 races).

DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to score a top-five finish is Joey Logano, who won the 2009 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 (12 races).

· The 2008 season marked the first time in NASCAR’s modern-era (since 1972) that THREE drivers shared the lead in the Raybestos® Rookie standings. After the second race of the season, Sam Hornish, Jr., Dario Franchitti and Regan Smith were all tied at the top of the standings.

Ryan Newman holds the all-time Raybestos® Rookie record for most poles (6), most top-fives (14) and most top-10s (22).

Denny Hamlin is the only Raybestos® Rookie to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup since the program was created in 2004.

Hamlin holds the record for most earnings by a Raybestos® Rookie ($6.6 million in 2006).

The record for most wins by a Raybestos® Rookie is three, shared by Tony Stewart (1999) and Jimmie Johnson (2002).

A Raybestos® Rookie has posted multiple victories SEVEN times in NASCAR Sprint Cup:

1987: Davey Allison, two

1999: Tony Stewart, three

2000: Dale Earnhardt Jr., two

2001: Kevin Harvick, two

2002: Jimmie Johnson, three

2005: Kyle Busch, two

2006: Denny Hamlin, two

More than one Raybestos® Rookie has posted victories in their rookie season only three times: Morgan Shepherd and Ron Bouchard (one each in 1981), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two) and Matt Kenseth (2000), Jimmie Johnson (three) and Ryan Newman (2002).

The way to the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship is to win Raybestos® Rookie of the Year. Since 1979, six Raybestos® Rookie of the Year drivers have gone on to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup title: Dale Earnhardt (1979), Rusty Wallace (1984), Alan Kulwicki (1986), Jeff Gordon (1993), Tony Stewart (1999, 2005) and Matt Kenseth (2000).

The longest streak for a Raybestos® Rookie to be in the top-10 in the Sprint Cup Series championship standings during the sport’s modern-era is 60 races (2001 MBNA Platinum 400 through 2002 Ford 400).

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 an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket parts for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With more than $2 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and India. For more information, visit www.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., for Raybestos, Press Release