Catchfence

Gastonia, N.C. (November 1, 2010) – Clint Bowyer was out front when it mattered most and walked away a winner in the AMP Energy Juice 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Bowyer was leading teammate Kevin Harvick on the final lap of the race when AJ  Allmendinger and four other cars crashed on the frontstretch, bringing out the sixth caution of the race and giving the win to Bowyer.

Cars equipped with WIX Filters, a member of the Affinia Group family of brands, have won 23 times in 33 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (including the Daytona 500, and Brickyard 400) and swept the top six positions at the 2.66-mile speedway.  Finishing third through sixth were Juan Pablo Montoya, David Reutimann, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr.

Bowyer and Harvick were wheel-to-wheel on the final lap of the race, with Montoya giving Bowyer a much needed push.  The finish was so close that NASCAR officials spent several minutes reviewing data to confirm the race winner.

Meanwhile, Bowyer started celebrating on the frontstretch – before being declared the winner.

“Claim that baby before somebody else does,” Bowyer said with a laugh.

Bowyer called his first restrictor plate victory “unbelievable” and had high praise for Earnhardt Childress Racing engines.

“I want to thank ECR—all you guys back at the engine shop, you’re back on top,” Bowyer said.  “I’m so proud of you guys.  That was an ECR win right there.  I want to thank Juan because I couldn’t have done it without him.  I’m just so happy with everybody.”

Scott Miller, Bowyer’s interim crew chief, was pleased with his driver’s performance.

“Clint did a fantastic job of putting himself in a position to win,” Miler said.  “We tested the waters a lot all day long to see what would work and what wouldn’t work.  Fortunately some of the things he found during the race worked out for us there at the end.

“The key to everything today was having a fast racecar and him putting himself in the right position to be able to win the race.  So it was just one of those days where everything lined up.  Fortunately we’re sitting here talking to all of you.”

The race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title tightened up at Talladega.  Jimmie Johnson is the leader, 14 points ahead of second-place Denny Hamlin and 38 ahead of third-place Harvick. Richard Childress, car owner for both Harvick and Bowyer, said he likes Harvick’s chances in the final races at Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway and Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.  The veteran car owner realizes what has to be done to win the championship.

“All three races Kevin Harvick is really good at,” Childress said.  “In the same sense, so is Denny and Jimmie.  Those are really good racetracks for all three teams.  I think whoever can sit there and pull off some wins is going to be the team to win the championship.  We have to give everything we got.  Proud of our whole organization for putting us in this position.”

Bowyer won for the second time in 2010 and the first time in 10 races at Talladega.  He claimed his fourth victory in 178 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and claimed and led the race nine times for 19 laps.  Richard Childress, Bowyer’s car owner, collected his 11^th victory as an owner, the most among car owners.

There were 87 lead changes among 26 drivers, only one lead change short of tying the all-time record.  Six cautions slowed the race for 19 laps, pushing Bowyer’s average speed to 163.618 mph.  The official time of the race was 3 hours, 3 minutes and 23 seconds.

Since 1939, WIX® Filters, a member of the Affinia Group family of brands, has been an innovator in filtration products. WIX designs, manufactures and distributes products for automotive, diesel, agricultural, industrial and specialty filter markets. Its product line includes oil, air, cabin interior, fuel, coolant, transmission and hydraulic filters for automobiles, trucks and off-road equipment. WIX, a member of the Affinia family of brands, is the number one filter in NASCAR and an exclusive NASCAR Performance Product. Its NASCAR relationship also includes the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award, which recognizes the drivers leading the most laps in each race. For more information, visit www.wixfilters.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 WIX Filters, Press Release