| With five races remaining in the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, Jeff Gordon holds a two-point lead over two-time defending WIX Filters Lap Leader Award champion Tony Stewart. If Gordon can hold off the competition down the stretch, he’ll win his second WIX Filters Lap Leader Award series title and year-end $75,000 prize.
Gordon, who leads the NEXTEL Cup Series’ point standings, earned his seven Lap Leader Awards by leading 736 total laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Watkins Glen International, Michigan International Speedway and Richmond International Raceway.
Stewart is in second place with five Lap Leader Awards; Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson are following closely with four; and Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won three. Seven additional drivers have earned the NEXTEL Cup Series WIX Filters Lap Leader Award at least once this season.
With four NASCAR Busch Series races remaining on the 2007 slate, Mike Wallace has claimed five WIX Filters Lap Leader Awards this season. Wallace leads Jason Leffler by a one-win margin, while Aric Almirola and Brian Vickers follow closely behind Leffler with three Lap Leader wins. Seven additional drivers have won at least one Busch Series WIX Filters Lap Leader Award in 2007.
Mike Skinner, who won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series WIX Filters Lap Leader Award in 2005 and 2006, remains the leader of the field with eight weekly awards this season. With five races remaining on the 2007 Craftsman Truck Series calendar, Ron Hornaday Jr. is closely following Skinner in the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award point standings with six wins, while Rick Crawford, Brad Keselowski, Travis Kvapil, Johnny Benson, Jon Wood and Todd Bodine 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 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
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