Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Carfax 250 - Clint Bowyer Notes

Clint Bowyer
No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: CARFAX 250 – August 18, 2007
Venue: Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, Mich.

This Week’s BB&T Chevrolet at Michigan International Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 068 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) stable. This is the same car Bowyer drove to a third-place finish in May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and to a fourth-place finish last month at Chicagoland Speedway. Built new for 2007, this is the same BB&T Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Bowyer raced earlier this year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he started fifth and finished 41st after being collected in an incident of another driver’s making on lap 12 of the 200-lap event.

Back to Burgundy and Gold … After featuring Camping World colors in his most recent Busch Series outing four races ago at Chicagoland Speedway, Bowyer’s No. 2 Chevy returns to its traditional burgundy and gold BB&T paint scheme this weekend at Michigan.

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor … BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) ranks highest in customer service satisfaction among primary mortgage servicing companies, according to a nationwide study by J.D. Power and Associates. The J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Primary Mortgage Servicer Study, released last week, was based on responses from 11,481 homeowners and involves the 53 largest home mortgage providers in the nation. In the overall ranking, BB&T was ranked 32 points ahead of the runner-up, the largest gap by far in the study between a company and its closest competitor.

Things that Make You Say “Hmmm” … In two NBS starts at Michigan International Speedway (MIS), Bowyer’s best finish is 12th. The Emporia, Kan., driver has a 20.5 starting average and a surprising 21st-place average finish. Last August, Bowyer started deep in the field and fought a loose-handling machine for the majority of the afternoon but still forged a 12th-place effort. After dominating the 2005 Domino’s 250 and leading almost half the race, Bowyer’s No. 2 Chevy suffered fuel-related issues which ultimately cost him two laps.

Pretty Strong for a Part-Timer … In 13 NASCAR Busch Series starts this season, Bowyer has amassed two wins, nine top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. Despite having competed in just over half of the races in NASCAR’s junior division, the Emporia, Kan., driver has led 298 laps and is 18th in driver points. Before skipping the last four events, Bowyer was ninth in points following the USG Durock 300 at Chicagoland.

RCR Busch Cars at Michigan … RCR has one Busch Series win at MIS. Kevin Harvick won the 2003 Cabela’s 250. In 15 NBS starts at the two-mile oval, RCR has secured three top-five and seven top-10 finishes. RCR Busch cars have also led 94 laps in Michigan’s Irish Hills.

RCR Busch Brigade … In 24 Busch Series races this season, RCR has claimed nine victories with the most recent coming last weekend at Watkins Glen with Kevin Harvick. Jeff Burton has won twice this season matched by Bowyer’s two wins. Harvick leads the way with five wins. Additionally, RCR’s three Busch Series teams (No. 2, No. 21 and No. 29) have 29 top-five and 41 top-10 finishes while leading a total of 1,106 laps.

Double Down in Brooklyn Town … Following his duties behind the wheel of the BB&T Chevy, Bowyer will turn his attention to the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet for Sunday’s 3M Performance 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race. Live coverage of the 23rd stop on the 2007 NEXTEL Cup tour will take the green flag Sunday, August 19 beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The race will be televised live on ESPN and broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying will be televised live on SPEED Friday, August 17 at 3 p.m. EDT.

Catch the Action … The CARFAX 250 from Michigan International Speedway will be televised live on ESPN2 Saturday, August 18 beginning at 3 p.m. EDT and broadcast on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 25th race on the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series schedule will be televised live on SPEED the same day beginning at 11a.m. EDT.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:
After sitting out the last few races, are you looking forward to getting back in the Busch car?
“I’m pretty excited about getting back in the BB&T Chevrolet – especially at Michigan. Michigan is such a fun race track and to be able to race a car that’s as good as the BB&T Chevy is on a regular basis makes it that much more fun. Dan, (crew chief Dan Deeringhoff), Jake (co-car chief Jake Lind), Brian (co-car chief Brian Smith) and all the guys that make that thing go do such an incredible job preparing these cars that they kind of make me feel like Superman when I’m on the race track. The cars are always fast and they handle like Cadillacs so that makes my job much easier. Kevin (Harvick) has been winning all these races lately so I think it’s time we go out and get one.”

Is Michigan a track you enjoy?
“I like Michigan a lot. You can slip and slide all around. You can run on the bottom, you can run on the top – basically, you can run all over the place at Michigan. As soon as the rag falls you go off into turn one and it’s like ‘man, everybody is everywhere.’ You’ll have cars on the bottom, on the top and in the middle. Trust me, it doesn’t take long to get three-and four-wide. Michigan is kind of like dirt racing. The groove moves around. You can be good on the top and before you know it, you’re struggling up there and then the bottom starts rolling. To me, that’s a lot like dirt racing. You search around for the line and you’ll hit it and run good for awhile but then it will fade and you have to go searching around again. That’s what makes Michigan a fun race track for me.”