Current 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points leader Jeff Gordon led 469 total laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Richmond International Raceway to claim his four WIX Filters Lap Leader awards. Stewart and Johnson have each won three Lap Leader awards this year; Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have earned two; and Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr. and Robby Gordon each clinched Lap Leader awards once this season.

In Busch Series competition, Mike Wallace, who captured his four WIX Filters Lap Leader Award wins at California Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway, leads Jason Leffler by a one-race margin.

“We appreciate the involvement by WIX and their support to our program,” said Wallace after winning his second Lap Leader award at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 17.

Brad Coleman is following behind Wallace closely with two WIX Filters Lap Leader Awards this season, while Marcos Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya, Steve Wallace, Scott Wimmer, Aric Almirola and Jason Keller are tied with one weekly award each.

Mike Skinner, the recipient of the 2005 and 2006 WIX Filters Lap Leader Awards in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, continues to build his lead over the four other drivers who have claimed a weekly award this season. Skinner has won the Lap Leader award in half the races this season, by leading 526 laps at California Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Michigan International Speedway and The Milwaukee Mile en route to first place in the point standings.

Ron Hornaday Jr. has won three awards this season, while Rick Crawford, Brad Keselowski and Travis Kvapil have each won one weekly award.

“It’s awesome to win the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award,” said Skinner, who captured his first victory of the season at California Speedway on February 23. “WIX Filters has been awfully good to us, and we’ve been able to pick up the overall WIX Filters Lap Leader Awards for the past two years. Hopefully we’re off on a good start this year.”

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.