Catchfence

2010 Raybestos Rookie Contender Logo

– NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

· Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the July 31 U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. Stenhouse Jr. claimed a 14th-place finish and grabbed top rookie honors for the fifth time in 2010.

· Brian Scott leads Stenhouse Jr. by 18 points (191-173) in the overall Raybestos® Rookie standings entering the August 7 Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Justin Allgaier was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the 2009 Zippo 200, scoring a 17th-place finish.

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

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

A Raybestos® Rookie has scored top-five finishes in three of the last four NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Watkins Glen.

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

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-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

DID YOU KNOW? Dario Franchitti (2008) holds the record for most laps led by a Raybestos® Rookie in a race at Watkins Glen (twice for 18 laps).

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)

DID YOU KNOW? Franchitti (2008) is the only Raybestos® Rookie pole winner in 16 previous races at the 2.45-mile road course.

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER POINT STANDINGS

DRIVER POINTS

Brian Scott 191

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 173

Colin Braun 161

James Buescher 97

HIGHEST-FINISHING RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE BY RACE

EVENT HIGHEST-FINISHING ROOKIE

DRIVE4COPD 300 James Buescher, eighth

Stater Bros. 300 Brian Scott, 10th

Sam’s Town 300 Colin Braun, 28th

Scotts Turf Builder 300 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 25th

Nashville 300 Brian Scott, 15th

Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., ninth

O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 Colin Braun, 13th

Aaron’s 312 Brian Scott, 10th

BUBBA Burger 250 James Buescher, 12th

Royal Purple 200 Brian Scott, 25th

Heluva Good! 200 Brian Scott, ninth

TECH-NET Auto Service 300 Brian Scott, 33rd

Federated Auto Parts 300 Brian Scott, 28th

Meijer 300 Colin Braun, 10th

The Bucyrus 200 Colin Braun, 11th

New England 200 Colin Braun, 12th

Subway Jalapeno 250 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., third

Dollar General 300 Brian Scott, third

Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Brian Scott, sixth

Kroger 200 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 11th

U.S. Cellular 250 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 14th

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE HISTORY

Justin Allgaier captured 2009 Raybestos® Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Allgaier claimed Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors 11 times during the 2009 season and his final margin of victory over Brendan Gaughan was 18 points (269-251). He finished the year with three top-five and 12 top-10 finishes and placed sixth in the series championship standings. His best finish was a fifth-place effort at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (race No. 4). Allgaier won his first career pole this past season at Memphis (Millington, Tenn.) Motorsports Park (race No. 32) and in his 36th career start.

· 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 (123 races).

· DID YOU KNOW? The most recent Raybestos® Rookie to win a pole position in the Nationwide Series is Justin Allgaier, who captured the top starting position for the 2009 Kroger 250 at Memphis (Millington, Tenn.) Motorsports Park (25 races).

· 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).

· DID YOU KNOW? Since 2001, Roush Fenway Racing has won FOUR Raybestos® Rookie of the Year titles in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

2007: David Ragan

2006: Danny O’Quinn Jr.

2005: Carl Edwards

2001: Greg Biffle

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 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 $1.8 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. Press Release