Following a move late last year to the use of the new Raybestos Brand Racing Brake System, NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has followed the same course and expanded its technical partnership with the use of Raybestos Chassis parts in 2009 competition.

Right to Left :Josh Russell, Vice President of Marketing for Affinia, Joey Logano, Driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, JD Gibb, Team President Joe Gibb Racing

  
“Racing today is as competitive as ever and the cars, the teams and the drivers demand superior performance with no room for error,” said Jimmy Makar, senior vice president of Racing Operations for Joe Gibbs Racing. “After extensive testing in the lab and on the track, we are excited about the performance benefits Raybestos Chassis will offer our race teams. We look forward to utilizing Raybestos’ state-of-the-art technology to give us a competitive advantage in the coming weeks at Daytona and throughout the entire NASCAR season.”  
    
Raybestos Chassis ball joints and tie rods are designed and engineered with Advanced Technology, which features friction-reducing synthetic composite materials that helps reduce instances of metal-on-metal contact and, as a result, requires less maintenance while providing superior performance.
    
Through tireless testing on the track and in the lab, JGR and Raybestos, in conjunction with NASCAR, developed a number of technological advancements to eliminate end play and reduce friction while increasing strength and durability. This allows crews to lower the upspring weight and set up cars to each track’s specific demands.
    
“We’re excited to welcome Raybestos as the Official Chassis of Joe Gibbs Racing, and we’re certain the full compliment of Affinia Group brands we already use, including Raybestos as the Official Brakes of Joe Gibbs Racing and WIX as the Official Filters of JGR, will make us as competitive as ever,” said J.D. Gibbs, team president, Joe Gibbs Racing.
    
Joe Gibbs Racing has enjoyed a successful relationship with Raybestos and this year, in addition to the introduction of Joey Logano as a Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender, will run a complete Raybestos Brake System, including calipers, rotors, hats, hardware and Raybestos Racing Brake Pads, in addition to Raybestos Chassis parts.
     
“The Car of Tomorrow is really quite heavy – about 400 lbs. heavier than previous models – and, as a result, has increased demands on every aspect of the vehicles’ chassis, suspension and even braking,” said Terry Heffelfinger, Director, Product Engineering, Research & Development for Affinia Global Brake and Chassis. “Our Advanced Technology Chassis components reduce friction and decrease the weight in the corners of the vehicle without compromising performance.”
           
In addition, after extensive testing and careful consideration, NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing has decided to run the complete Raybestos brand racing brakes system in 2009 competition, including the new highly-engineered Raybestos lightweight racing caliper — designed specifically to deliver a braking advantage in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events. 
            
Whether in the dyno lab or at proving grounds, Raybestos engineering teams have continually developed and tested full-race, high-friction race pad compounds for decades – with each generation superior to the last.  It’s this tireless dedication to product improvement that led Raybestos to forge a strategic partnership with Alcon, a renowned UK-based manufacturer specializing in motorsport brake and clutch systems, in development of a next-generation, super-lightweight racing caliper for the Raybestos braking system.
      
“The new range of Raybestos racing calipers has been developed using Alcon’s Optimized Structure Caliper Architecture (OSCA) design process,” says Phil Stubbs, director of Alcon USA. “By optimizing the caliper design for each application we have achieved a reduction in weight, increase in stiffness and maximized overall performance in every scenario. Partnering with Raybestos has provided a unique opportunity to use Alcon’s caliper and rotor technology to develop a product range ideally suited for use with Raybestos’ latest friction technology to create a range of brake packages specifically tuned for each type of track.”

“We are thrilled about JGR’s decision to run the complete Raybestos brake package,” says Josh Russell, Vice President of Marketing for Affinia, manufacturer of Raybestos brand brakes. “Alcon’s expertise was instrumental in development of the new caliper design, and along with our rotors and friction, Raybestos now offers an unparalleled racing brake system that will help give JGR’s Toyotas the advantage they need on race day.”