Ron Hornaday Jr. and team owner Kevin Harvick celebrate Hornaday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship and Harvick's Ford 200 win at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The championship is Hornaday's fourth in the series and the second for Kevin Harvick Inc. (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

FORD 200

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES

NOVEMBER 20, 2009

Kevin Harvick Caps off Season with Victory at Homestead; Ron Hornaday, Jr. is 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion and Delivers Kevin and DeLana Harvick, Co-owners of Kevin Harvick, Inc Second Truck Series Owners Title; Silverado Increases Driver’s Championships to 10 in NCWTS Competition; Johnny Sauter Claims 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award

Miami – (November 20, 2009) – It is official, Ron Hornaday, Jr., No. 33 Longhorn Silverado, has won the 2009 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCWTS) driver championship to become the first four-time Series champion.

With his eighth (8th) place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hornaday and the No. 33 Silverado team led by Rick Ren delivered the 2009 NCWTS owners championship for the second time to Kevin and DeLana Harvick, co-owners of Kevin Harvick, Inc.(KHI).

To cap off the season, Harvick claimed his third NCWTS win of the season taking his No. 4 Georgia Boots Silverado to victory lane. He led four times for 108 of 136 laps.

Hornaday’s first title came in 1996. He claimed his second in 1998 and third, also behind the wheel of a KHI Silverado, in 2007. He holds the top spot in number of race wins in the Series with 45 to date. Rick Ren is also the winningest NCWTS crew chief with a total of 27 trips to victory lane.

In claiming both the 2009 NCWTS driver and owner crowns, KHI claimed nine (9) victories this season. Hornaday captured his title with six (6) wins this season. Harvick contributed to KHI’s owners title with three trips to victory lane.

Hornaday’s championship is the 10th time a Silverado driver has won the NCWTS top-prize in the 15-year history of the Series, more than any other manufacturer.

“On behalf of everyone at Chevrolet, congratulations to Ron, Kevin and DeLana on their outstanding season that netted them both the driver and owner championships in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” said Brent Dewar, Vice President, Chevrolet Global. “For Ron to become the only four-time NCWTS champion with his Rick Ren-led team is a remarkable achievement. There is a great sense of pride at Chevrolet that all of his 45 wins have come behind the wheel of a Chevy Silverado.”

Matt Crafton, No. 88 Menards Silverado, finished second in tonight’s race and in the standings after a season-long battle with Hornaday. It is the best final point standings finish for Crafton in his 10-year NCWTS career.

Johnny Sauter, No. 13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins/Curb Records Silverado, captured the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award as well as finishing sixth in the overall standings.

“It is a proud moment for us to congratulate Ron Hornaday on his fourth NCWTS championship and Kevin and DeLana Harvick on their second owners crown,” said Mark Kent, GM Racing Manager. “With the outstanding performances of the ThorSport drivers Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter, Team Chevy captured three of the top-six positions in the final standings.

“As a result of the 10 victories captured by Ron, Kevin and Johnny, Chevy Silverado continues to be the winningest truck in the Series.”

Ron, Rick, Kevin and DeLana and the entire No. 33 KHI Chevy Silverado team will be honored at the championship celebration on Monday, November 23 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.

November 20, 2009

An interview with:

KEVIN HARVICK

ERNIE COPE

RON HORNADAY JR.

RICK REN

THE MODERATOR: We’ve got quite a group up here in front of us. We’re going to roll into the race winner for the Ford 200. That is Kevin Harvick, he drives the No. 4, Georgia Boot Chevrolet with crew chief Ernie Cope, and also joining him up on the podium is our 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion for the fourth time. He sets an unprecedented record in that series. No one has ever won four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships, and he’s the first driver to do that. And that’s Ron Hornaday Jr., driver of the No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet, with crew chief, Rick Ren. Certainly owners Kevin Harvick and DeLana Harvick are here with them to celebrate in that.

First off, the race winner, let’s hear from Kevin Harvick. Great victory for you tonight. The third win in your sixth top 10 in 2009. Back to back victories, congratulations, Kevin.

KEVIN HARVICK: Thank you. Just you know it was a great weekend for us. The truck was flawless. Really two weeks in a row it’s been flawless now. We built two new trucks to try to get a head start on next year.

Our main goal was to go out and after Ron had clinched the driver’s championship the last two weeks to lead the most laps and win the race, and it’s not very often you can go out and accomplish that. So we had a good weekend and the guys have worked hard.
And Georgia Boot came on at the last minute to sponsor the truck, so it’s been a great weekend. Lock up the championship last week, and lock up the owner’s championship this week makes it a lot of fun.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. You have your crew chief over there, Ernie Cope. Your thoughts about tonight’s victory?

ERNIE COPE: It was pretty dominating. Only thing I was worried about was a caution at the end, and it did happen, but the truck was fast enough it didn’t matter.

THE MODERATOR: Speaking of domination tonight, Kevin Harvick certainly defined that. He had a perfect driver rating of 150 tonight in the race. That’s the first time, I think, in your career in the Truck Series, Kevin, that you’ve accomplished that. It doesn’t get any better than that. So congratulations on a perfect driver rating of 150.

KEVIN HARVICK: Yeah, I don’t really know how that works. But it sounds good.

THE MODERATOR: Various components go into it. But it’s certainly a measure of just how dominant you were tonight. Congratulations.

KEVIN HARVICK: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Let’s hear from our 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion. He may have wrapped it up this week, but he was hard charging out there tonight. But, Ron, how does it feel to win four championships in this series as competitive as it is, and here you are with your fourth championship? Talk about that?

RON HORNADAY JR.: It would have been really bad if we did not win that owner’s championship. This team really deserves it. Kevin and DeLana have given us the equipment to do the stuff that we do. Five wins in a row is remarkable, and that’s because of Rick Ren and all the guys and Kevin and DeLana letting us build new trucks week in and week out.

I went up there probably two months ago and I had like 11 trucks done. I went back up there two weeks ago and only had four trucks. So Kevin keeps selling my trucks and building new ones. I’m not going to complain because they’re faster than anything you drive.

At my age you get too get in these rocket ships. I’m still having fun. Other than this weekend and last weekend, I’ve been sicker than a dog. But to come down here and win four. It will hit me as soon as we get a cold beverage over there at the motorhome. Gatorade.

THE MODERATOR: Rick Ren, certainly not your first time around the block with Mr. Hornaday. You guys won the championship in 2007. And here again in 2009. I think this is a great statistic here. You’re the all time series leader in crew chief wins with 27. That’s terrific. Had five different drivers in nine seasons that have won those races for you, but congratulations, Rick, and how does it feel to be a champion again in 2009?

RICK REN: It’s kind of undescribable. It’s a valiant effort of all the members of our race team. The guys, Ron and myself, we worked really hard this year to not have any shortcomings, because we came up just a little bit short last year, so we worked really hard other all areas that we could control.

I’ve just got to thank the whole thing. Kevin and DeLana with the opportunity, Ron with his drivability, and my guys with their work ethic. And that’s what it takes to build a championship team.

Q. Ron, would you detail what kind of ailments you’ve been through this week and just how difficult it’s been for you tonight particularly?

RON HORNADAY JR.: It’s just been flu symptoms. Just it all started when I got off the airplane. You know, my mother in law’s been sick, and we went to the hospital and seen her. Then we jumped on an airplane. Must have gotten the flu or something. The tickle in the throat, the head ready to blow off. You want the whole deal? The drippy nose, the runny (laughing).

The only good thing about it I didn’t get the fever or anything. They say if you get the fever, you have the swine flu. So I didn’t get that. Sit down here in good old Miami for three days, sitting in the motorhome sweating to death.

Q. You talked a little bit out on pit road about the final restart. What was the decision like there at the end? Was there any talk about whether or not you were going to come in or was it just a no brainer?

KEVIN HARVICK: I thought it was a no brainer. I thought that the tires, you know, were probably to the end of their life. And with the track position that we had, I felt like there was enough lap cars in between us that were going to pit, you know, to make sure that we could put four tires on it.

And I saw the 17 stay out, but everybody behind me came. So it really worked out good. We had four tires, they had no tires, and we were able to get a good restart. He had old tires and just spun the tires there at the end and moved down the block. As soon as he moved back up, I just drove by him.

So it was a good night on pit road. We didn’t have any mistakes on pit road, and, you know, it all worked out in the end.

Q. You were emotional a couple of years ago with winning your first title. How can you put this one in perspective? How much better is it maybe because you won the race, Ron won the title last week and then clinched the owner’s title for you. I don’t want to say does it make it sweeter, but can you compare the two?

KEVIN HARVICK: I think we look at them as equal from a team standpoint, you don’t want to lose anything from an owner’s championship to a driver’s championship. And I think everybody knew how important it was to go out and win that.
I’ve been a part of the celebrations where you have to share the stage with somebody from the owner’s championship side of it, and it’s not you don’t feel fulfilled. And I think with the year that they’ve had, you know, it feels like it’s a fulfilled year.

I mean, you know, we knew that I knew that my job was to go out and try to lead the most laps and beat kyle. I thought that barring some crazy circumstances, that they knew what they needed to do and could make that happen and it all worked out.
We’ve seen it all night workout. We’ve been on the other side of the fence last year. You just never know. That’s what makes the series so exciting.

I don’t need to tell you guys, and you all know, but it’s more of a there’s a lot of personal relationship between Ron and myself and, you know, it it’s very gratifying to see him be able to win. That means as much to me as winning the races or winning the championships is to see Ron happy and winning races and winning the championship. You know, the personal relationship is more important than, you know, anything else.

Q. People have talked about this often throughout your stint in the Truck Series. But what is it when you run well in a truck race, why does it always seem like the momentum tends to carry over throughout the weekend?

KEVIN HARVICK: Yeah, I don’t know. I race at all the racetracks that I like. You know, I think every time we show up we have good trucks. That makes it a lot of fun. You kind of cherry pick the places that you like to go.

So nine times out of ten, the Cup car’s going to go well. The momentum definitely didn’t carry over last week, and we had two good days to lead up to the Sunday race. But it definitely doesn’t hurt. It makes you feel good from a confidence side that you can go out and win races. You know, it makes it a lot of fun, so it makes you pretty relaxed for the rest of the weekend.

Q. How do you have so much success when you’ve got a grizzled old grandfather for a driver?

RON HORNADAY JR.: He’s as old as I am.

RICK REN: Yeah, I’m actually a little bit older.

KEVIN HARVICK: Between the two of them they’re over 100.

RICK REN: Yeah (laughing). You know, it’s just we’re both first of all, we respect each other. And respect is a big word in this business. Second of all, you know, him and I just have an agreement. He tells me what it’s doing and he wants me to fix it, and we work it out.

We don’t argue with each other or fight with each other. We just go out and do our thing, you know. Everybody growls at each other once in a while, but that’s part of this business. I don’t know. It’s just fun. I think we get along great.

RON HORNADAY JR.: Now. Ten years ago we wouldn’t have.

RICK REN: Yeah, ten years ago we probably wouldn’t have.

Q. Did you know that Kyle had blown the tire and was a couple of laps down or did they not tell you?

RON HORNADAY JR.: Yeah, I seen Kyle. Trust me I had been watching him all night. Yeah, it still didn’t change my strategy. Rick and I, I told him what the truck was doing, and he fixed exactly what I told him. We went a little too far.

We were on the same deal, and we know the tires were, you know, Kyle made the right choice of staying out and just putting fuel only because he’s won the race three or four times having tires in the pits when the other guys didn’t.

So strategy didn’t work this time. We blew the right front. That’s what with Rick and I did last year, we got tires and made up for it, and we lost. So, yeah. They kept me informed. I kept yelling at how many laps to go because I wanted to get out pretty quick.

Q. I know the past two weeks you’ve been thinking big picture, but how does it feel to get beat two weeks in a row by your car owner? Is?

RON HORNADAY JR.: Yeah, it’s my truck. Yeah. It’s I’ll finish second every week. I’ll keep getting championships. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win.

Kyle, when he shows up here, he brings the bar up that much higher, makes us work that much harder. Same deal with Kevin when he shows up. That’s what makes this series so great.

Anybody can win any given day, and NASCAR with the venue tracks we’re going to, different drivers, young and old did I say that again? It just makes it so much fun.

So Kevin beat me. I’ve got to go do my homework. I’ll give him the truck this week. He had a better truck than I did. You own them both, does it matter (laughing)? I got to slow down once in a while, don’t I?

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Congratulations on tonight’s race win. Or this season’s championship as both a driver and owner. Congratulations.

An interview with:

MATT CRAFTON

THE MODERATOR: We have our second place finisher in tonight’s race. He also finished second in this year’s Championship points race. That’s Matt Crafton. He drives the No. 88 Australian Gold Chevrolet. Matt, you had a good season, had a good race tonight. Your thoughts about how things unfolded?

MATT CRAFTON: They unfolded all right. That 4 truck, he’s been tough here the last few races. They brought two really good trucks the last two races and we’ve came up short tonight.

But we had a really, really good truck. I knew at the end last night we had a really good truck. The balance on the truck and the race trim was really good.

And I honestly didn’t know how it was going to qualify, because we tried to do a qualifying run last night and we were horrible loose. So after we qualified where we did, I knew we had a shot to be able to have track position.

Q. The grand picture with KHI, with Ron, and now with Kevin winning back to back races, what was that like in terms of trying to just keep up with them? Is there any kind of consolation in being as close to them tonight and finishing second?

MATT CRAFTON: It’s really good. But there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to beat them. We outran them 33. It just shows. KHI they built two brand new trucks, a brand new truck for Phoenix, and a brand new truck for here. It just shows how good their stuff was these last two races with Kevin, that’s exactly what we’ve planned on doing.

We’ve sold a few trucks here already at the end of the year, and we’re building new stuff for next year. We’ve kind of got some ideas, and here are some of the ideas of what they’re doing.

We’ve got a direction we need to go to make our stuff better, and that’s what we plan on doing in making a really good run for the championship next year. I mean, this team I can’t thank Duke and Rhonda, Thorson and Menards and Australian Gold.

Each and every year if you look at our points since ’05, every year we’ve gotten better and better. I mean, Top 5s, it’s been really good to see the team come from as far as they’ve come.

About General Motors:

General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

- GM Racing Communications Press Release

Raybestos Rookie Contender Logo

Johnny Sauter, 9th

Tayler Malsam, 15th

James Buescher, 18th

Ricky Carmichael, 19th

Brent Raymer, 25th

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER QUOTES FOR THE

FORD 200 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES RACE

AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009,

No. 13 Fun Sand / Rodney Atkins / Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado

JOHNNY SAUTER IN THE No. 13 FUN SAND/RODNEY ADKINS/CURB RECORDS CHEVROLET CLINCHED 2009 RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR HONORS IN TONIGHT’S RACE AT HOMESTEAD.

NOTES:

Sauter scored a ninth-place finish in tonight’s race, his third consecutive top-10 and 13th top-10 of the 2009 season. He was the top Raybestos Rookie in 14 races this season.

Sauter scored his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway (race No. 20) where he finished 2.474 seconds ahead of teammate Matt Crafton. The victory came in his 31st career start. Sauter also led the most laps in the event (64 of 146).

Johnny Sauter

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has scored top-10 finishes in 20 of the 25 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races this season.

A Raybestos Rookie has scored top-10 finishes in the last two consecutive races at Homestead and in three of the last four dating back to 2006. Top-10 finishes by Raybestos® Rookies at Homestead:

1996: Ron Barfield Jr., fourth

1996: Bryan Reffner, fifth

1996: Jay Sauter, eighth

1996: Doug George, 10th

1997: Kenny Irwin, FIRST

1998: Greg Biffle, fourth

1998: Scot Walters, 10th

1999: Mike Stefanik, second

1999: Scott Hansen, seventh

2000: Kurt Busch, ninth

2001: Travis Kvapil, second

2001: Ricky Hendrick, fifth

2004: David Reutimann, fourth

2005: Todd Kluever, seventh

2006: Erik Darnell, third

2008: Brian Scott, second

2008: Scott Speed, 10th

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 a global leader in the on and off-highway replacement products and service industry. In North America the Affinia family of brands includes WIX® Filters, Raybestos®, AIMCO® and BrakePro® brake products, and McQuay-Norris® and Raybestos™ Chassis parts. South American and European brands include Nakata®, Filtron®, Urba® and Quinton Hazell®. For more information, visit 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

Raybestos Rookie Contender Logo

Johnny Sauter, 5th

Tayler Malsam, 15th

James Buescher, 19th

Ricky Carmichael, 20th

Brent Raymer, 24th

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER PRACTICE DAY QUOTES

FOR THE FORD 200 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES RACE

AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009, PAGE 1.

Johnny Sauter was the top Raybestos Rookie in today’s first practice session for the Ford 200 here at Homestead. Sauter posted the fifth-best overall speed in the session. He leads Tayler Malsam by 43 points (223-180) in the Raybestos Rookie standings and is fifth in the series championship standing. Sauter is 84 points behind fourth-place Todd Bodine and 13 ahead of sixth-place Brian Scott.

No. 13 Fun Sand / Rodney Atkins / Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado

JOHNNY SAUTER, No. 13 FUN SAND/RODNEY ADKINS/CURB RECORDS CHEVROLET:

“It’s all right. We really fired off all right but it’s not where we need it to be on long runs so we’ve just got to keep working at it here. Anytime you can unload and be in the top-five you’re close. That’s all you can ask for but we’ve just got to get better, that’s all.”

Johnny Sauter

“Yep, same one, truck 23. This is probably the 15th or 16th time we’ve ran it. It’s been pretty good, it’s just the last two races that we’ve ran it it’s been really loose getting in the corner and I don’t know why. Hopefully we can fix it here or otherwise it’ll be swatting flies for 200 miles [smiles].”

Brent Raymer

“For 2010 we’re just going to do more of the same. We want to do a lot more of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series but we’re just going to kind of pick and choose here and there, unless things change. We’re talking to some people and hopefully have a sponsor on board and then of course we’d run the whole year and that’s what we’re hoping to do. But worse-case scenario we’re going to be hitting tracks here and there, probably run about 70 percent of the races next year. Our short track program got a lot better this year but our mile-and-a-half stuff has been off. That’s what we here in Homestead doing, trying to make things better, trying to figure out where we’re lacking and trying to get better for next year.”

TRYING TO BE COMPETITIVE AT THE INTERMEDIATE TRACKS IS ASKING A LOT FROM A SMALL TEAM.

“It is. We’re fighting a lot but if it were easy everybody would do it [smiles]. It’s kind of cliché but it’s so true. We’re just going to keep digging at it. You’ve got to figure if you throw enough springs and stuff at it eventually you’ve got to get it.”

WHAT IS THE MAIN THING THAT YOU’VE LEARNED THIS YEAR?

“Just try to be patient with the truck. You can’t just go out there and as much as you want to be good and want to be fast that first lap, you’ve just got to work your way into it.”

HOW MANY FULL-TIME GUYS DO YOU HAVE?

“As far as full-time employees it’s me and my younger cousin and that’s it. We hire a pit crew out and we bring a couple of people to the track with us to do a lot of the stuff that two people just can’t do. There’s so much you have to do at the track. At the shop working on it it’s just me and my cousin.”

DO YOU SOMETIMES GET OVERWHELMED WITH EVERYTHING?

“That’s just part of it. I know that that just comes with it and I know that that’s just what we’re going to have to do in order to progress. The only frustrating part is trying so hard and you change so much and then you come to these mile-and-a-halfs and you’re still not fast. You picked up a little bit but you hadn’t gained what you wanted to gain. That’s the hardest part of this whole year.”

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 a global leader in the on and off-highway replacement products and service industry. In North America the Affinia family of brands includes WIX® Filters, Raybestos®, AIMCO® and BrakePro® brake products, and McQuay-Norris® and Raybestos™ Chassis parts. South American and European brands include Nakata®, Filtron®, Urba® and Quinton Hazell®. For more information, visit 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

Raybestos Rookie Contender Logo

Johnny Sauter, 5th

Tayler Malsam, 17th

Ricky Carmichael, 18th

James Buescher, 23rd

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER RACE QUOTES FOR THE LUCAS OIL 150

JOHNNY SAUTER IN THE No. 13 FUN SAND/RODNEY ADKINS/CURB RECORDS CHEVROLET WAS THE TOP RAYBESTOS ROOKIE IN TONIGHT’S RACE AT PHOENIX.

NOTES:

Sauter scored a fifth-place finish in tonight’s Lucas Oil 150, his seventh top-five of the 2009 season. He claimed Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the 13th time this season and third consecutive event.

DID YOU KNOW? A Raybestos® Rookie has scored top-10 finishes in 19 of the 24 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races this season.

This is the second consecutive top-five finish by a Raybestos Rookie at Phoenix. Other Raybestos Rookies to score top-fives at Phoenix

1996: Bryan Reffner, fourth (spring race)

1997: Kenny Irwin, fourth

1998: Andy Houston, fourth (spring race)

1998: Greg Biffle, second

2000: Kurt Busch, fourth

2003: Carl Edwards, fourth

2008: Brian Scott, fourth

UNOFFICIALLY Sauter is fifth in the series championship standings, 84 points behind fourth-place Todd Bodine and 13 ahead of sixth-place Brian Scott.

Johnny Sauter

“It’s substantially tighter. I mean the farther back you go the worse it is. It is what it is and we’ll go to Homestead. It’s frustrating. I’m proud of everybody.”

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO HOMESTEAD NEXT WEEK?

“I like it for various reasons. It’s the last race of the year [smiles]. It’s a cool racetrack. The banking there is a lot of fun. If you’re not working on the bottom you can move around substantially. The progressive banking or whatever they call it, the last time I ran there, it’s been a couple of years, but the last time I did I think I qualified in the top-15 or something like that in the Cup race and was running 12th and got wrecked. It’s a really good place, I love it there. We’ll just see what we got when we get there.”

YOU HAVE A COMFORTABLE LEAD IN THE RAYBESTOS ROOKIE STANDINGS AND YOU HAVE AN EXCELLENT CHANCE TO FINISH TOP-FIVE IN POINTS.

“That’s good. That’d be huge for a team that was 22nd in points a year ago.”

Tayler Malsam

“The 16 just got into us at the end of the race. I guess he doesn’t know how to use the brakes or something. I’m just real proud of the guys. They did an awesome job of giving me a truck. We thought we weren’t any good but we ended up being pretty good. We’ll just go get ‘em next weekend. He just got inside of us. I don’t want to say anything until I see the replay but I’ve had two people come up to me and say he ran over me.”

IT APPEARED THAT YOU MADE YOUR TRUCK BETTER THROUGHOUT THE RACE.

“We just worked hard all weekend and that’s all you can do. To get wrecked on the last lap stinks but that’s just how it goes sometimes.”

Ricky Carmichael

We kept the fenders on it. We’d have liked to have finished a little better but we can’t demand too much. We threw this thing together and we’ll live to fight another day. We lost a lot of positions the first pit stop. I think if that wouldn’t have happened we would have never went a lap down and would have got a ten times better finish. That’s the way it goes. It’s racing. The truck was pretty good. I think I needed a little more front left downforce. That was my biggest problem. Like I said, I’m happy for the team and those guys worked hard. We had a decent qualifying round and we’ll get better.”

DID YOU MAKE THE TRUCK BETTER DURING THE RACE?

“When you compare how we unloaded to how we raced, ten times better. I’m happy for them. Like I said, we’ve got some work to do but we’ll start fresh next year with a whole bunch of new KHI equipment. I’m pretty optimistic about that, very happy for that day to come.”

ARE YOU LEARNING MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO MAKE THE TRUCK BETTER DURING THE RACE?

“Yeah absolutely. You know, just getting laps like last week and this weekend and being competitive, I’m learning a lot. So when I get to come back to these places next year I’ll have already been here so I expect out of myself to be a lot better, yes.”

James Buescher

“Just run out of room I guess. It’s just hard racing. TJ and I were running hard down the backstretch. I haven’t talked to TJ yet but, I don’t know, just got run all the way down to the grass and tried to hold on to it and give him all the room I could and couldn’t give him room so run up the track, hit him and it sent me spinning.

The MAXXFORCE truck was pretty good early on in the race and about halfway through the race the brakes started fading pretty bad and the truck had gotten really, really loose everywhere. We tried to adjust on it a little bit and I think we made it worse. I was wishing we had some more tires in the pits with 20 to go.”

DID YOU MAKE THE TRUCK BETTER DURING THE RACE?

“I think we made it worse. The first pit stop we didn’t adjust on it at all. It was pretty good at the beginning. Then the second run was a little longer on the tires and a little more fuel burned off so it affected the way the truck was handling and we were trying to set up for the end of the race by making it better at the end of a long run and made it worse in the beginning of the run so just got us way behind, I guess trying to hard to catch back up from getting behind. Just ran out of room, just hard racing. We’ll go to Homestead and finish this deal up.”

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 a global leader in the on and off-highway replacement products and service industry. In North America the Affinia family of brands includes WIX® Filters, Raybestos®, AIMCO® and BrakePro® brake products, and McQuay-Norris® and Raybestos™ Chassis parts. South American and European brands include Nakata®, Filtron®, Urba® and Quinton Hazell®. For more information, visit 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

NOTES:

- Sauter won the pole for tonight’s race at Phoenix, his second in 35 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. He also nabbed the top starting spot earlier this season at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway (race No. 20).

DID YOU KNOW? Sauter is the first Raybestos Rookie pole winner in 17 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at Phoenix. The best previous qualifying effort was second by Andy Houston (1998 spring race) and Bill Lester (2002).

Johnny Sauter

It’s been pretty fun the last couple months. We got our first win a few weeks back in Vegas and got our second pole here. I hope we can keep the band together for next year and make a run for that championship. I mean, that’s what this is all about. It’d be pretty cool to win this race here tonight. I love this racetrack, it’s one of my favorite racetracks, always run super-well here and feel like tonight could be the night.”

DID YOU FOCUS ON QUALIFYING HERE TODAY?

“You put it in everywhere you go. Qualifying is so important, track position. Everybody looks at this as a short track. You still get aero-tight here so being up front in clean air makes all the difference in the world so hopefully we can keep it all together tonight and have solid pit stops, keep our truck in one piece and have a shot at it. I feel really good about this one.”

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 a global leader in the on and off-highway replacement products and service industry. In North America the Affinia family of brands includes WIX® Filters, Raybestos®, AIMCO® and BrakePro® brake products, and McQuay-Norris® and Raybestos™ Chassis parts. South American and European brands include Nakata®, Filtron®, Urba® and Quinton Hazell®. For more information, visit 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

Johnny Sauter, 6th

James Buescher, 19th

Tayler Malsam, 20th

Ricky Carmichael, 24th

RAYBESTOS® ROOKIE CONTENDER PRACTICE DAY QUOTES

AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009,

Johnny Sauter was the top Raybestos Rookie in today’s first practice session for the Lucas Oil 150 here at Phoenix. Sauter posted the sixth-best overall speed in the session. He leads Tayler Malsam by 45 points (223-178) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering Friday night’s race and is seventh in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings.

No. 13 Fun Sand / Rodney Atkins / Curb Records Chevrolet Silverado

“We’re good. It’s the best we’ve unloaded at a short track. I know we’re not top of the board but we go faster the longer we run which is usually a really good characteristic that for whatever reason I have at these places. We’re right there. I mean, I’m tickled to death right now. It’s phenomenal.”

YOU SEEM TO RUN WELL AT THESE FLAT RACETRACKS LIKE PHOENIX AND MILWAUKEE.

“I don’t know [smiles]. I wish I knew. You know what’s funny is I just love this kind of racing. It’s fun to me. You can go to Texas and some of those places and I’ve run well at those places, we won Vegas a few weeks ago, but it’s not as fun. You don’t feel like the driver has as much input. At Vegas you hold it wide open all night. Well what the hell fun is that? I mean, it’s fun, but here you actually have to roll out of the gas, use the brake, turn the wheel, get to race around people, close-quarters. It’s just fun. I like that kind of racing.”

Johnny Sauter

“I can look at that a million different ways. I expected to have a better season in a lot of ways but judging from where we were, where the 13 team was a year ago and where we’re at right now, I think anybody would say yeah, it’s been a huge improvement. We’ve still got a long way to go. We can win more races and legitimately if we can keep the band together the way we’ve got it we can win the championship next year I think if we do it right. I’m happy but until you lead every lap and sit on every pole and win every race there’s always room for improvement.”

YOU MUST BE EXCITED ABOUT NEXT YEAR BECAUSE YOU WILL BE BACK WITH THE SAME TEAM.

“I’m looking forward to it. We’re tweaking everything we’ve got. Been fortunate enough, knock on wood, that we haven’t tore up a bunch of stuff this year. We know what works right now and if we can just improve on that. I’m stoked. To know where you’re going to be a next year racing full-time that’s a big deal.”

Raybestos Rookie Ricky Carmichael will make his first start of the 2009 season for owner Steve Turner Friday here at Phoenix. Carmichael will compete for the team full-time in the 2010 season.

Ricky Carmichael

“We’ve got a little work to do after practice but we’ll figure it out. I’m happy. I’ve got a great opportunity with Turner Motorsports and I’m very thankful for that. Kevin [Harvick] was instrumental in that and here we are. I’m very excited about it. I’ve got to be in the truck, full-time in the seat, to realistically have a shot at making this deal happen. I’ve got that opportunity now so I’m happy.”

SO KEVIN HARVICK ACTUALLY HELPED YOU PUT THIS DEAL TOGETHER?

“Absolutely. Kevin got with Steve and Steve was willing to run me for the full year and that’s what I need. Like I said I’m pumped up about it.”

YOU WILL RUN HERE AND AT HOMESTEAD IN ADDITION TO THE FULL SEASON IN 2010. HOW IMPORTANT ARE THESE TWO RACES IN 2009?

“It’s just two more tracks that I will have been to next year. I’m thankful that Turner Motorsports is doing this for me for these two races and ready to get working for next year.”

WHAT IS IT LIKE GOING TO A BRAND NEW TEAM?

“It’s part of it. I like it. I’m a people person so I can get along with anybody. It’s fun for me. I get to meet a lot of people, a lot of good people, and I look forward to working with these guys and trying to get them some good results.”

DO YOU HAVE TO MANAGE YOUR EXPECTATONS A LITTLE BIT WITH A NEW ORGANIZATION BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU WILL EXPERIENCE SOME GROWING PAINS?

“Yeah, we’ve got to have realistic expectations but at the same time you’ve got to do it. We set high standards for ourself and look forward to trying to make it happen.”

WHAT WOULD BE GOOD RESULTS FOR YOU IN THESE LAST TWO RACES?

“Anything in the top-10 would be great. It’s a new team and we want to get the best result we can. I think we can do it. It’s just going to take time and patience.”

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 a global leader in the on and off-highway replacement products and service industry. In North America the Affinia family of brands includes WIX® Filters, Raybestos®, AIMCO® and BrakePro® brake products, and McQuay-Norris® and Raybestos™ Chassis parts. South American and European brands include Nakata®, Filtron®, Urba® and Quinton Hazell®. For more information, visit 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