“I found out with about nine laps to go that it was between Tony Stewart and me for the WIX Lap Leader Award, so it was big for us to try to lead the most laps,” said Hamlin. “I tried all day to lead laps because I know how important it is.”

With six NEXTEL Cup races remaining in the 2007 season, Jeff Gordon maintains his lead in the point standings for the year-end WIX Filters Lap Leader Award $75,000 prize and series title with seven Lap Leader Awards. Defending WIX Filters Lap Leader Award champion Stewart is following closely with five Lap Leader Awards.

Todd Bodine won his first WIX Filters Lap Leader Award of the season last weekend by leading 46 laps on his way to winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mike Skinner remains the leader in the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award season-long competition in the Craftsman Truck Series with eight Lap Leader Awards.

The NASCAR Busch Series did not hold an event this past weekend. Mike Wallace continues to lead this season’s Busch Series WIX Filters Lap Leader Award point standings with five wins in 2007.

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 AffiniaGroup.com