DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 5, 2005) – If you happen to be an acquaintance of Clint Bowyer (No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet), forgive him if he seems a little preoccupied this week.

Bowyer is from Emporia, Kan., just 90 miles from Kansas Speedway. He is also just 26 points from first place in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings.

Bower has made up 204 points on defending series champion and current points leader Martin Truex Jr. (No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) over the last five races. The 26-year-old is the closest to Truex any driver has been since Reed Sorenson (No. 41 Discount Tire Co. Dodge) was seven points down following Milwaukee, where Truex took his first lead of the season.

“I can’t let the distractions of being close to home get in my way, but it sure would be nice to leave [Kansas] in the lead and give all the fans something extra to cheer about,” Bowyer said of Saturday’s race.

That he is worried about being distracted is almost a pleasant problem to have. Bowyer started in motocross at age 4, and struggled to decide whether to turn pro at 16. But a visit to a quarter-mile dirt track in Humbolt, Kan., with his grandfather, made his career destination clearer.

“It looked like so much fun out there, sliding those cars around the corner and racing so close,” he said. His switch to race cars began with Modifieds and by 2002, had won NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series championships at two different tracks – Lakeside and Heartland.

In 2003, Bowyer was racing in an ARCA event in Nashville. That same day, the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series was in the midst of a rain delay. Although Bowyer didn’t finish the race, Richard Childress caught the event on TV during the weather postponement, and believed Bowyer would be a good fit with his organization.

Following the race, Bowyer returned to Kansas and his job as a fabricator at a Ford dealership. A phone call came for him at work; he was told Childress was on the line. Certain that a joke was being played on him, Bowyer refused the call.

Finally, he did answer, and to his surprise, was invited by Childress to fly to his shop to discuss driving for RCR.

Bowyer shared time in the No. 21 Reese’s Chevrolet with 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Champion Kevin Harvick last season, compiling four top fives, seven top 10s and a pole in 17 starts. He was rewarded with a fulltime ride in the No. 2 Chevrolet this year, and has 10 top fives, 18 top 10s and two poles. He also captured his first NASCAR Busch Series win at Nashville – where he was discovered – last June.

“Consistency is going to play out in the end, but we need to win a few more races,” he said. “I need to win a couple more to be satisfied. We had expectations of being in this position from the beginning of the season, and now we are here. We’ve put ourselves in a position to be here and have proved we belong.”

NEWS & NOTES, PART II

ON THE RIGHT TRACK
There have been four different race winners at Kansas, with the Green brothers – Jeff (2001) and David (No. 27 Kleenex Ford – 2003) claiming two of those victories. Three former series champions are among the four previous winners – the Greens, who remain the only siblings to capture NASCAR Busch Series crowns in 1994 and 2001, respectively, and defending race winner Joe Nemechek (No. 87 Cellular One Chevrolet), who won the title in 1992. Nemechek swept the weekend events at Kansas last season. … Michael Waltrip (No. 99 State Fair Corn Dogs Chevrolet) – has two Busch Poles at Kansas. Paul Menard (No. 11 Menard’s Chevrolet) captured the pole here last fall. … Greg Biffle (No. 66 Subway Ford), the 2002 series champion, leads all drivers with four top five and four top-10 finishes in four races at Kansas. … Ford leads manufacturers with two wins at Kansas.

ETC.
Denny Hamlin (No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet – fifth) and Kenny Wallace (sixth) are separated by only 13 points in the NASCAR Busch Series championship standings while eighth-place David Stremme holds a slight one-point lead over ninth-place David Green. Just 74 points separate Stremme from 11th-place Greg Biffle – Biffle has competed in 22 of 29 races this year. … Jon Wood (No. 47 Clorox/Wisk Ford) will make his first NASCAR Busch Series start at Kansas, but like Carl Edwards, has a win (2003), three top fives and one top 10 in four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at Kansas. … Mark Martin (No. 9 Pennzoil Platinum Ford), the series all-time leader in wins (47) and poles (28 – tied with Tommy Ellis), is entered at Kansas. He has two wins, a pole, and six top-10 finishes in six starts this year. … Paul Menard has finished in the top 10 in 12 of the last 14 races. … Clint Bowyer has finished 25th or worse twice this year, the best mark in the series. … Brewco Motorsports announced a joint promotional venture with the United States Postal Service for the month of October in an effort to raise awareness for Child Health. The team’s three Fords – Biffle and Aaron Fike’s No. 66 and David Green’s No. 27 – with the newly-issued “Child Health” commemorative postage stamp, beginning this weekend. The promotion comes at an appropriate time as the first Monday in October is designated as “Child Health Day” and this year is designated “The Year of the Healthy Child” by the Surgeon General. … Gere Kennon will replace Jon Wolfe as crew chief for the No. 38 Great Clips Dodge effective this weekend. Kennon began the season as crew chief for Michael Waltrip’s No. 99 Chevrolet. … For the third time this season, three Raybestos Rookies – Reed Sorenson, Carl Edwards and Hamlin – rank in the top five in the NASCAR Busch Series points standings. … NASCAR is a final nominee for a Horizon Award for Sports Business honor in the Best Sports-Themed Advertising category for its 2005 NASCAR Busch Series TV ad campaign. The winners will be announced Nov. 2 in Atlanta. … Johnny Sauter (No. 1 United Way Dodge) participated in an on-line auction used to generate donations to the United Way prior to Saturday's race. Sauter bid on a special package, which included space on his race car. He gave his winning spots back to the United Way so it could feature three of its main charity beneficiaries on the car during the event. All three charities listed – American Red Cross, Salvation Army and Catholic Charities – are currently focused on providing aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

QUOTEBOOK

FROM THE ARCHIVES
Since the first NASCAR Busch Series race at Kansas Speedway in 2001, Greg Biffle is the only driver to post top-10 finishes in each of his races there. In the four events held at the 1.5-mile track, Biffle has finished no worse than fourth. He was runner-up in last year’s event and picked up a pair of third-place finishes in 2001 and ‘03. He was fourth in ’02.

By contrast, Biffle has one top 10 starting position – ninth in 2001 – and has led a total of 18 laps since ‘01. His consistent finishes, however, outshine his competitors.

ON DECK: LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Although not an off-week, it is a “home game” for many NASCAR Busch Series drivers when the series makes its annual fall trek to Charlotte on Oct. 14 for the Dollar General 300. Mark Martin leads the way with six wins at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 26 races. Kyle Busch won for the second time in three races this past May, while Mike Bliss provided one of 2004’s most memorable moments in the NASCAR Busch Series with his first career win in this race last year. Bliss utilized a daring, middle-slot pass on the frontstretch between Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson to take the lead with only seven laps to go.