McHenry, IL — October 26, 2009

 Denny Hamlin knew immediately he had a brake package that could contend in Sunday’s TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. As it turned out, that Raybestos package, along with some crafty maneuvering, helped Hamlin hold off Jimmie Johnson for his third Sprint Cup victory of the season.
 “The brake package that Joe Gibbs Racing and Raybestos have come up with has been a steady, consistent performer for us all year long,” said Hamlin, who wrestled the lead from Johnson on lap 363 and never looked back. “Jimmie had a chance to pass with about 40 laps remaining, but I saw him trying to out-dive me to the corner so I got aggressive with my brakes and was able to hold my line.  The brakes were as good on lap 500 as they were on lap one.”
 The Martinsville victory was the eighth Sprint Cup Series victory in 2009 for cars utilizing the Raybestos brand brakes.  Cars on the Raybestos equipment have dominated short track races this season – winning six of the nine short track events completed to date, including a pair of wins at both Bristol and Richmond.
 The reliable performance of the Raybestos brake packages has Joe Gibbs Racing excited about the continuation of the technical partnership into 2010 and beyond.  “Another great weekend for Joe Gibbs Racing, and another outstanding performance from our Raybestos brakes,” said Jimmy Makar, JGR Sr. VP of Racing Operations, following the Martinsville victory.  “We have come to depend on the Raybestos package to help make the difference every week – especially on these tough braking tracks.  It’s a partnership that’s working very well for us.”
 Hamlin’s victory concluded a sweep of the weekend’s races at Martinsville for Raybestos brand brakes.  Timothy Peters’ No. 1 Strutmasters/Red Horse Racing truck also benefited from a Raybestos short track brake package in taking home the checkered flag in Saturday’s Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race.
 The Raybestos® Sprint Cup braking system that Hamlin utilized to win at Martinsville features ultra-lightweight aluminum alloy six-piston calipers - the stiffest and lightest calipers available in all of NASCAR.  The innovative calipers were developed using Raybestos technology partner Alcon’s state of the art “optimized design” process, and include an asymmetric body design and advanced between-piston and crossover cooling features. The new Raybestos® Short Track brake package also provides for the largest brake pad volume (surface area) and largest rotor (13.15” outside diameter, and 1.65” thick) available in NASCAR.    
 For more information on the Raybestos Sprint Cup braking system, or for questions on any Raybestos brand brake or chassis products, visit www.raybestos.com or call 800-323-0354.

Raybestos® brand brake parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake & Chassis Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems in the transportation industry. Including everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes and hydraulic parts, Raybestos brand brakes are the official brakes of NASCAR and the only brakes used by Joe Gibbs Racing in competition. In addition, the Raybestos brand is the preferred brake friction of the IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights.  For more information about Raybestos brakes, visit Raybestos.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.

Contact:

Brendan O'Brien

Bellwether Communications

(262)639-9093

bobrien@thebellwethergroup.com