Stewart’s performance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway moved him into first place in the standings for the year-end WIX Filters Lap Leader Award $75,000 prize and the series title. Jeff Gordon is following closely with four Lap Leader Awards; Jimmie Johnson has won three; and six additional drivers have earned at least one weekly award this season in NEXTEL Cup racing.

In Busch Series competition, Aric Almirola earned his third WIX Filters Lap Leader Award in 2007 by leading 87 laps in the Kroger 200 last weekend at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Mike Wallace continues to lead the Busch Series WIX Filters Lap Leader Award point standings with four wins this season.

Ron Hornaday Jr. led 90 laps and clinched the win in the Power Stroke Diesel “200” on July 27 to capture his fourth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series WIX Filters Lap Leader Award this season. Hornaday Jr.’s win at O’Reilly Raceway Park tightened the gap between him and two-time defending champion Mike Skinner, who continues to top this season’s point standings with seven wins this season.

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.