Concord, NC — April 1, 2009  – Affinia’s Raybestos® brand brakes have been added to the USARacing lineup as an official status partner for the 2009 USARacing Pro Cup Series.  Affinia, through its Raybestos® brand, will support the series with title sponsorship of the series rookie of the year award and by creating a contingency program for competitors using Raybestos® brake products.
“We are thrilled to have our Raybestos® brand entering USARacing Pro Cup Series for the 2009 season,” says Josh Russell, Vice President of Marketing for Affinia Global Brake & Chassis, manufacturer of Raybestos® brand brakes.    "In addition to supporting the USARacing contingency awards and Raybestos® Rookie of the Year programs, we're excited to make Raybestos® Advanced Technology racing brake components available to USAR teams and drivers.  They'll be able to benefit from running some of the very same lightweight calipers, rotors, or aggressive racing friction compounds relied on by championship caliber teams throughout NASCAR, IndyCar, Ford Racing Mustang Challenge and more.”
The top finishing Raybestos® Rookie in each USARacing Pro Cup race will receive a $100 cash award.  To be eligible, the Rookie competitor must have a Raybestos® Brakes "Rookie Contender" decal affixed to the race vehicle.  The driver earning Raybestos® Rookie of the Year honors will receive a $5,000 cash year end award plus another $10,000 in Raybestos® Racing Brakes products.
To be eligible for the contingency money, a competitor must have a Raybestos® racing product (pads, rotors or calipers) on the race vehicle. The Raybestos® brake product must be functional and must have a Raybestos® Brakes Contingency decal affixed to the race vehicle. The race winner or top finishing competitor using Raybestos® products will be paid $100 per race.
"The racing tradition of Raybestos® is a long and storied one," said USARacing Executive Vice President Larry Camp.  "We are pleased to add them to our official status partner companies.  Their sponsorship of the USAR Pro Cup Series Raybestos® Rookie of the Year program demonstrates their commitment to the evolution of our young drivers."
 
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 joints, 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.  

Raybestos® brand brakes are the official brakes of NASCAR, and the NASCAR relationship also includes the Raybestos® Rookie of the Year Award, which is presented to the top rookie in each of the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck racing series. In addition, Raybestos® is the preferred competition brake friction of the IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights at all road and street course races. For more information about Raybestos® brand brakes, visit www.raybestos.com.  For more information on Raybestos Chassis visit www.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 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.