Race 2 Win: Nationwide Series Race Notes

Nationwide Series

Corona Mexico 200 - Clint Bowyer Notes

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

Event/Date: Corona Mexico 200 presented by Banamex – April 20, 2008
Venue: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – Mexico City

NOTES:

This Week’s BB&T Chevrolet at Nashville Superspeedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 075 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series stable. Built new for 2008, this BB&T Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS is a sister car to Chassis No. 072 – the car that Kevin Harvick drove to Victory Lane last season at Watkins Glen International and Circuit Gilles Villenueve.

Back to Burgundy … After featuring a blue and gold Camping World paint scheme the last two weekends, Bowyer’s No. 2 Chevy returns to its traditional BB&T colors this weekend in Mexico City.

A Look Back at Last Week … Last weekend in Phoenix, Bowyer ran in the top five for the majority of the race until a late-race pit road speeding penalty dropped Bowyer back to 13th, the last car on the lead lap, with less than 20 laps to go. In the closing 19 laps, the 28-year-old driver picked up five spots and finished eighth.

Season in Review … Over the season’s first eight races, Bowyer has earned one win, four top-five and six top-10 finishes. The fifth-year NNS driver has led 200 laps and completed all but two of the 1,468 laps run to date.

Bowyer in the Loop …

Average Running Position … According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Bowyer leads all current NNS drivers in the Average Running Position category with a 6.115 ARP. The ARP is derived from taking the sum of a driver’s position on each lap and dividing it by the number of laps run in each race.

Driver Rating … At the same time, Bowyer enjoys a 114.5 Driver Rating. The Driver Rating is a formula that combines the following categories: wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The Driver Rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.

Laps in the Top 15 … Meanwhile, the six-time NNS winner has spent 1,328 of the 1,468 laps completed this season (90.5 percent) running in the top 15.

Laps Led … Bowyer has led 200 laps in Nationwide competition this season and trails only Kyle Busch and two-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart in that category.

RCR in Mexico City … In three races at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, an eight turn, 2.518-mile road course, RCR-prepared Nationwide Series cars have notched two top-five and three top-10 finishes. Over those three races, RCR has fielded cars for four different drivers including Bowyer, Harvick, Scott Wimmer and P.J. Jones.

Eight Races, Two Wins … In eight NNS races this season, RCR entries have notched two wins (Bowyer – Bristol and Wimmer – Nashville), nine top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. RCR cars have also led 272 of the 1,468 (18.5 percent) of the total laps run this season.

Three Birthday’s in April … The BB&T racing team celebrates three birthdays in April. Shock specialist PJ Bryant will be 31 on Saturday. Spotter Jimmy Kitchens will celebrate his 44th birthday next Saturday in Talladega while rear-tire carrier Michael Hodges turned 25 on April 7.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday … Live coverage of the Corona Mexico 200 presented by Banamex from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez will be televised live on ESPN Sunday, April 20 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The first road course race of 2008 will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for round nine of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship will be televised live on ESPN2 Saturday, April 19 at 11:30 a.m. EDT. MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will air qualifying updates live.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES
You’ve run two races in Mexico City and finished seventh and 16th. What are your thoughts about going south of the border?
“It’s a lot of fun to go down there and be part of such a big race. It’s a huge event. Obviously, Mexico City is a big market for the sport so it’s important for us to go down there with our Nationwide cars. Certainly, the fan base is huge in Mexico City. The track is a lot of fun to race on. Other than the chicane on the front straightaway, I really enjoy the track.”

Is it very flat and very tight? How would you describe the race track?
“I wouldn’t say it’s tight. I would call Sonoma tight. Mexico City is definitely flat so it doesn’t have a lot of character in that regard. There are a lot of technical parts of the track. The big right-handed sweeper when you come down to the start/finish line is definitely pretty weird. It feels really funny when you’re turning to the right for that long.”

The race looks really physical. It looks like there’s a lot of bumping and jamming, especially coming into turn one.
“It’s hard to pass and that’s kind of what brings out that physicality. That’s one of the things that makes it fun.”