Race 2 Win: Coca-Cola 600 - Clint Bowyer Notes

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Coca-Cola 600 - Clint Bowyer Notes

Clint Bowyer
No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Coca-Cola 600 – May 28, 2006
Venue: Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C.

This Week’s Race Car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot chassis No. 165 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new for 2006, this is the same car Bowyer raced earlier this season at Atlanta. While Bowyer recorded a 27th-place finish with this car at AMS, he was 15th with 24 laps to go until crew chief Gil Martin was forced to summon his driver to pit road when the integrity of the car’s right-front tire came into question. A Splash of Color … Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevy will sport a Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails paint scheme during this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 festivities at LMS.

Busy Week for Bowyer … On Tuesday, May 23, Bowyer, along with team owner Richard Childress, traveled to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., to visit Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede. Dixie Stampede appears on the B-post of Bowyer’s No. 2 ACDelco NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) entry. For 20 years, Dixie Stampede (www.dixiestampede.com) has provided exciting, high-quality themed entertainment to families in destination travel markets across the United States. Each show features a friendly rivalry between the North and the South with exciting feats of horsemanship, audience participation and a fabulous four course feast. Dixie Stampede currently operates four dinner-theatre attractions in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Branson, Mo., and Orlando, Fla.

Competition Calls as Well … Immediately upon his return from Dixie Stampede Tuesday evening, Bowyer will travel to the Pocono (Pa.) Mountains to participate in the Stock Car Experience at Pocono Raceway to help familiarize himself with the tricky, triangular-shaped track. Bowyer has yet to race or see the 2.5-mile racetrack.

Testing, One, Two, Three, Testing … Bowyer and company tested at Lowe’s Motor Speedway May 2-3 in preparation for last weekend’s All-Star race and this week’s Coca-Cola 600. The 26-year-old driver recorded the fourth-fastest overall speed of the test, lapping the 1.5-mile Concord, N.C., track in 29.365 seconds (183.892 mph). The test was the fourth of six allowed under NASCAR’s 2006 testing policy. The remaining tests available to teams in NASCAR’s top division will be conducted at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 10-12) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 16-18).

Double Your Pleasure … After a rare weekend off from Busch Series competition, Bowyer returns to the seat of the No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet for the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 NBS race at LMS Saturday, May 27. The race will be televised live on FX beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Bowyer is currently second in the NBS championship point standings, 347 markers behind leader and teammate Kevin Harvick.

Up to Speed … The Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway will be televised live on FOX, Sunday, May 28, beginning at 5 p.m. EDT and broadcast live on PRN and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series’ Memorial Day Weekend classic will be televised live on SPEED Thursday, May 25 at 7 p.m. EDT and broadcast on PRN and XM Satellite Radio.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:
How optimistic are you heading into the 600?
“I’m very optimistic. We tested two cars at Charlotte and one was quite a bit better, actually head and shoulders better, than the other car. Me, being the racer, I wanted to bring the good car to the NEXTEL Open last week but cooler heads prevailed and we decided to keep the good one under wraps for the 600.”

What about the harder tire, smaller fuel call and all the added pit stops because of the smaller fuel cell? Does that put any extra pressure on you, as a driver, to make sure you get in and out of the pits cleanly?
“We’ll definitely have to practice getting on and off pit road in practice and we’ll definitely have to be on our game when it comes to pitting. I definitely think we have the hot rod to do it. The Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet showed a lot of promise during the test and there should be no reason why we’re not as competitive when we get back for the race.”

How are you going to handle a 600-mile race? Clearly, it’s the longest race that you’ve ever participated in. Do you look at the scoreboard while you’re out there and keep track of the laps?
“You just go. Hopefully, we’ll have a good handling race car, make good adjustments and keep up with it in the pits. That’s the thing about the 600 – you have to keep up with the car. As the sun goes down, the car tends to get tighter as the track temperature cools off. You might have to sacrifice early to be there at the end.”

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