With 14 races remaining in the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, Jeff Gordon has moved into a tie with two-time defending WIX Filters Lap Leader Award champion Tony Stewart for the 2007 WIX Filters Lap Leader Award. Gordon and Stewart top the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award point standings in the race for the year-end $75,000 prize and the series title.

Stewart, who earned the 2005 and 2006 WIX Filters Lap Leader Awards in the NEXTEL Cup Series, has earned five awards this season by leading 597 cumulative laps at Daytona International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, Chicagoland Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Gordon, who moved into a tie with Stewart with his Lap Leader Award win this past weekend at Watkins Glen International, earned his five Lap Leader Awards by leading 520 total laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Richmond International Raceway and Watkins Glen International.

Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are following closely with three Lap Leader Awards; Denny Hamlin has won two; and Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex, Robby Gordon and Clint Bowyer have each earned the NEXTEL Cup Series WIX Filters Lap Leader Award once this season.

In NASCAR Busch Series competition, Mike Wallace, who won his four WIX Filters Lap Leader Awards at California Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway, leads Aric Almirola by a one-win margin. Jason Leffler remains two wins behind Mike Wallace, while Brad Coleman, Scott Wimmer, Jason Keller, Marcos Ambrose and Ron Fellows have each captured one WIX Filters Lap Leader Award this season.

Mike Skinner, the two-time defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series WIX Filters Lap Leader Award champion, maintains a strong lead on the field with eight weekly awards this season. He led 762 cumulative laps as a result of his performances at California Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, The Milwaukee Mile, Kentucky Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway.

Ron Hornaday Jr. is in second place in the 2007 Craftsman Truck Series WIX Filters Lap Leader Award point standings with four wins this season, while Rick Crawford, Brad Keselowski and Travis Kvapil have each won one weekly award.

The WIX Filters Lap Leader Award is part of Affinia Group’s Motorsports program, which includes WIX Filters as the number one filter in NASCAR and an exclusive NASCAR Performance Product, the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award and Raybestos® brand brakes as the Official Brakes of NASCAR.

The WIX Filters Lap Leader Award is presented to the driver who leads the most laps during each race in NASCAR’s NEXTEL Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck racing series. The award includes a cash prize presented to the winning driver during a ceremony before the next race and an end-of-year payout and trophy for the driver who earns the most WIX Filters Lap Leader awards over the course of the entire season. Cash awards for the end-of-year honor are: $75,000 for the NEXTEL Cup Series; $20,000 for the Busch Series; and, $10,000 for the Craftsman Truck Series.

In order to be eligible for the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award for a single event, drivers and teams in each series must run the WIX Filters decal on the front fender and use WIX oil or air filters in their vehicles. Additionally, for any year-end payout, teams must run the decal on the front fender for every race they participate in, with an allowance for one race, and they must always use WIX oil or air filters.

Since 1939, WIX Filtration 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 is the number one filter in NASCAR and an exclusive NASCAR Performance Product. For more information, visit www.wixfilters.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® brand brakes and AIMCO® brake products, and McQuay-Norris® and Spicer® Chassis parts. South American and European brands include Nakata®, Filtron®, Urba® and Quinton Hazell®. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.