McHenry, IL — March 23, 2009

The Raybestos-equipped Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas were the class of the field at Bristol, as Kyle Busch drove the No. 18 Snickers Toyota into Victory Lane on Sunday after leading 378 of 503 laps.  Busch was followed by Denny Hamlin, who posted a second place finish for Joe Gibbs in the No. 11 FedEx Toyota.

It was the second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season for Busch and the No. 18 Toyota, which enjoys the on-track advantage of the complete Raybestos® brand racing brakes package – including racing calipers, rotors and high-friction race pads.  Every Joe Gibbs Racing Sprint Cup car is equipped with both Raybestos brand brake systems and Raybestos™ Advanced Technology® Chassis parts.

The victory was especially satisfying for Busch and the JGR team considering their recent history at Bristol. After the driver lost his power steering while leading at Bristol last spring, Busch was then bumped from in front by Carl Edwards last August after leading 415 laps.

It was the first top 5 finish of the 2009 season for Hamlin who was leading with 59 laps to go until his teammate took back the top spot once and for all.

“Any time you’re able to finish 1-2 it’s a pretty good indicator of how well you’re running as a team,” said Jimmy Makar, Senior Vice President of Racing Operations for Joe Gibbs Racing. “The Raybestos brakes and chassis components responded perfectly from start to finish.”

Busch, Hamlin, and the Joe Gibbs organization are already looking forward to this upcoming weekend at Martinsville Speedway in hopes of a repeat performance.  The ½-mile “paper clip” oval is considered one of NASCAR’s most demanding braking tracks.   To gain a competitive advantage at Martinsville, the Joe Gibbs cars will debut an
entirely new Raybestos® Short Track / Road Course Sprint Cup braking system.

The ultra-lightweight aluminum alloy six-piston calipers enter Martinsville as 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.    

Raybestos® brand brake and chassis parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake & 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 Race Team in competition. For more information about Raybestos 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.

Alcon Components USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcon Components Limited, the UK based manufacturer of premium brake and clutch products. Alcon systems are engineered and designed for the most rigorous demands and are widely used throughout the world of motorsport, from Formula One to IndyCar to NASCAR, as well as in various high performance road vehicles including Jaguar, Land Rover and Bentley.  For more information, visit www.alconusa.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.

Contact:

Brendan O'Brien

Bellwether Communications

(262)639-9093

bobrien@thebellwethergroup.com