Cars using WIX Filters swept the top-three positions in the second Gatorade Duel (Stewart placed second ahead of third-place Montoya) and continued to enjoy a successful Speedweeks. Each of the top-five finishes in Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona were equipped with WIX Filters.

Kahne grabbed the lead from Stewart in Turn 3 on lap 58 of the 60-lap race. But Stewart made one final push to the front, getting drafting help from Juan Pablo Montoya down the backstretch on the last lap of the race. The partnership propelled Stewart alongside Kahne as the pack roared to the start-finish line but Stewart couldn’t clear the No. 9 Budweiser Ford.

“Yeah, it was really exciting throughout the race,” Kahne said. “My car, we started off pretty loose on entry, a little tight off. Kenny Francis [crew chief] and our Budweiser team did a great job on the pit stop to get it a little bit better. At that point I tried to learn what some of the other guys’ cars up front were doing.”

Kahne said a push from Kurt Busch in the closing miles made all the difference in the closing miles of the race.

“Once I got behind Tony I felt like I was in a really good position and just needed to take advantage when I got the right push,” Kahne said. “Kurt [Busch] gave me that in Turn 1. I was able to sneak under Tony. From there I just tried to keep the 2 [Busch] behind me. He was really strong throughout the whole race. I felt if I could keep him behind me that I’d have a decent shot at winning. It was close but we were able to pull it off.”

Kahne’s official margin of victory was .014 second (about three feet). His average speed was 174.644 mph in a race that took just 51 minutes and 32 seconds to complete. The race was slowed by just one caution flag for three laps. There were 11 lead changes among eight drivers.

Since 1939, WIX® Filters, a member of the Affinia Group family of brands, 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, a member of the Affinia family of brands, is the number one filter in NASCAR and an exclusive NASCAR Performance Product. Its NASCAR relationship also includes the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award, which recognizes the drivers leading the most laps in each race. For more information, visit www.wixfilters.com.

Affinia Group Inc. is an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket parts for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With more than $2 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and India. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.

Raybestos® brand brake and chassis parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake and Chassis Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems and chassis parts in the transportation industry. The brake line includes everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes and hydraulic parts, while the chassis line features tie rods, ball points, idler arms and sway bar links. Raybestos brand braking and chassis systems are also the only systems used by NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing in competition. For more information about Raybestos brakes, visit Raybestos.com. For more information on Raybestos Chassis visit www.raybestoschassis.com.

*Affinia Group Inc.’s affiliated companies include Brake Parts Inc. WIX Filtration Corp LLC, Affinia Products Corp LLC and other high quality manufacturers of the Affinia family of brands.