Clint Bowyer
No. 07 Sopranos Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 – March 12, 2006
Venue: Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 152 from the Richard Childress Racing stable. Built new for 2005, this is the same Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Dave Blaney raced to a 20th-place finish last fall at Dover and to a 28th-place finish in November at Texas. Since then, with the exception of the chassis, the car has been completely stripped and rebuilt from the ground up. Bowyer raced the same car to a 14th-place finish two weeks ago at California Speedway.
Boss of all Bosses … This weekend, Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevy will shed its traditional black and white Jack Daniel’s paint scheme in favor of a red and black layout promoting the March 12 season premiere of HBO’s hit series The Sopranos. The Sopranos logo will be showcased on the hood and on the quarter panels of the RCR-owned entry. Some of the show’s other businesses are also getting into the act, with the Bada Bing logo appearing on the car’s rear quarter panel. The 07 team’s crew uniforms will also include a patch advertising Satriale’s Pork Store. The Soprano’s season premiere will air Sunday, March 12 at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on HBO.
Rookie of the Year Update … Bowyer holds a two-point advantage over J.J. Yeley in the NEXTEL Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings entering this weekend’s race at LVMS. Bowyer is the only rookie that ranks in the top 10 in the NEXTEL Cup Series points. He is eighth in the standings entering the Las Vegas event, two points behind seventh-place Ryan Newman and 84 behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
More Double Duty … Bowyer will also race RCR’s No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet at LVMS on Saturday, March 11 in the Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Busch Series race. The race will be televised live on FX beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and also broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and XM Satellite Radio.
Testing One, Two, Three, Testing … Bowyer and the No. 07 team tested at LVMS Jan. 30 & Feb. 1 and posted the 11th-fastest overall speed. Bowyer lapped the 1.5-mile Sin City oval in 31.964 seconds (168.940 mph.)
Fast Talk Live … Bowyer will be a guest on PRN’s Fast Talk Live with hosts Mark Garrow and Doug Rice Thursday, March 9 at the Orleans Hotel and Casino. The show will air live on PRN’s affiliates from coast to coast beginning at 11 p.m. EST.
Meet the Driver, Win the DVD … Bowyer will sign autographs in Las Vegas at Circuit City located at 7781 West Tropical Parkway on Thursday, March 9 from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Tickets for autographs are limited in quantity to the first 200 fans and will be available the day of the event at Circuit City. Ticket holders will also be eligible to win No. 07 Sopranos die-casts, crew shirts, t-shirts, hats and a Sopranos fifth-season DVD collection.
In Case You Missed it … Bowyer will also sign autographs Sunday, March 12 from 9:45 – 10:15 a.m. at the Jack Daniel’s souvenir trailer at LVMS. Tickets will be available at the trailer the morning of the race and are limited in supply due to time constraints.
Nothing Better than the Experience … Following his stop at the souvenir trailer, Bowyer will make a quick appearance at the Jack Daniel’s Experience for a question and answer session from 10:30 – 10:45 a.m. The Jack Daniel’s Experience will be located outside the front straightaway on LVMS property.
Up to Speed … The UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, March 12 at 4:30 p.m. EST and will be telecast live on FOX. The event will also be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying will air live on SPEED, PRN and XM Satellite Radio Friday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. EST.
CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:
YOU’VE HAD A PRETTY SUCCESSFUL START TO THE SEASON. DO YOU SEE THINGS HEADING IN THE SAME DIRECTION THIS WEEKEND AT LAS VEGAS?
“I sure hope so. Obviously, we had a good run at Daytona and fared pretty well a couple weeks ago at California. I think if that caution didn’t come out at the end of the race in California, we would be looking at another top 10 for the Jack Daniel’s Team. We had a really good test at Las Vegas back in January so we’re all excited to get out there and see what we can do. Jeff (Burton) and I both had really good cars at California so we’re all optimistic that we can carry that same success over to Las Vegas.”
YOU’VE GOT A PRETTY EXCITING PAINT SCHEME FOR THIS WEEKEND PROMOTING THE SEASON PREMIERE OF THE SOPRANOS AND YOU ALSO HAD A CHANCE TO MEET SOME OF THE CAST. ARE YOU A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT HAVING TONY SOPRANO FOR YOUR BOSS THIS WEEKEND?
“I’ve got some pretty big shoes to fill. I just hope they don’t end up being cement shoes when the race is over. Everyone at RCR is very enthusiastic about running The Sopranos car this weekend. We went up to New York a couple weeks ago and got to meet some of the cast and crew from the show. It was a ball. I was kidding with some of the guys from the cast telling them that they weren’t actors, they were real mobsters that got to play themselves on TV. I’m not sure if they thought I was funny or not but they made it pretty clear they weren’t very good losers so we’re going to figure something out. Maybe Tony Soprano can put a call into Mike Helton or Brian France just to make sure NASCAR keeps it fair.”
YOU’RE RUNNING A FULL SCHEDULE IN BOTH THE CUP AND BUSCH SERIES. HOW WILL RUNNING BOTH SEASONS FULL TIME MAKE YOU A BETTER DRIVER?
“It all goes back to seat time. The more you’re in the car; the better you’re going to get. Looking back, my teammate Kevin Harvick did it in 2001 and that was the best season of his career. He was running both series and he was in the car a lot. He stayed focused on what he was supposed to be doing and that’s driving the race car. It really helped him avoid distractions. Because he was in the Busch car on Saturdays, he wasn’t off doing appearances or a lot of other different things he might have been doing if he wasn’t in the car.”
