Clint Bowyer
No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: 3M Performance 400 – June 18, 2006
Venue: Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, Mich
This Week’s Race Car at Michigan International Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 165 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new for 2006, this is the same Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Bowyer raced to 27th-place finish in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Welcome Back Mr. Jack … After showcasing a DIRECTV look last week at Pocono, Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevy will return to its traditional black and white Jack Daniel’s paint scheme this weekend at MIS.
Timing is Everything … Not only will Bowyer have the luxury of qualifying his No. 2 ACDelco Busch Series entry this weekend, he’ll be able to practice the car as well. Following qualifying at Michigan on Friday afternoon, Bowyer and RCR teammate Kevin Harvick will depart MIS via helicopter and fly to Jackson (Mich.) Airport before boarding Harvick’s Lear 31 bound for Kentucky Speedway and Busch Series final practice. NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series qualifying is scheduled to begin at 3:10 p.m. Friday, June 16 with final Busch Series practice slated for 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. The duo will return to MIS that night in plenty of time to practice their NEXTEL Cup cars twice the following morning. After Saturday’s NEXTEL Cup Series Happy Hour, the RCR tandem will return to Kentucky Speedway for the Meijer 300.
RCR at Michigan … RCR team owner Richard Childress has earned two wins at MIS, both of them coming with Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt snagged the checkered flag in the Miller American 400 on June 28, 1987 and again in the Miller Genuine Draft 400 on June 24, 1990. Additionally, RCR boasts 15 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes with seven different drivers including Childress, a former driver in NASCAR’s top division, who recorded top 10s at Michigan in June 1978 and August 1979.
It’s Jody’s Birthday on Sunday … Jody Eastridge, a native of Midway, N.C., and pit support specialist for Bowyer’s No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, will celebrate his 29th birthday this Sunday at Michigan.
Update: Barry Sheppard … After falling ill two weeks ago at Dover with a cardiac-related condition, Barry “Hillbilly” Sheppard will be back to work on Monday, June 19th. Sheppard will drive the Jack Daniel’s Racing Team’s transporter to Infineon raceway next weekend, embarking on a 5,642 mile roundtrip journey. Jeff Price will drive the No. 07 team’s transporter again this weekend.
Saturday Night Under the Lights … Live television coverage of the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway begins Saturday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m. EDT on FX. The race can be heard live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Bowyer is currently third in the Busch Series championship hunt, 121 points out of second and 393 markers behind leader and teammate Kevin Harvick.
Catch the Action … The 3M Performance 400 from Michigan International Speedway will be televised live on FOX Sunday, June 18 beginning at 1p.m. EDT. The 15th of 36 points-paying races on the 2006 NEXTEL Cup tour will also be broadcast live on MRN and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying will be broadcast live on SPEED Friday, June 16 at 3 p.m. EDT. MRN and XM Satellite Radio will also carry qualifying live beginning at 3 p.m. EDT.
CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:
Are you glad to get back to Michigan and maybe a little more familiar territory?
“Michigan should be a good race track for us. I thought we had everyone covered in the Busch race last year until we had some trouble getting fuel in that car and wound up three laps down. Michigan was definitely a sore spot in our season last year so hopefully we’ll have a much better outcome with the Jack Daniel’s Chevy this time.”
What did you learn about Michigan when you were there last year?
“It’s a fun race track. We’ll get the car freed up and run it off the right-rear (tire) and hold on. You’re wide open at Michigan most of the time. It’s a very fast race track and you don’t use the brakes a whole lot. It’s a lot of fun. I like racing on any track that has a lot of grooves. Growing up in the Midwest and racing on dirt, I didn’t get to race on tracks that are as wide as Michigan. I think Michigan is four times wider than anything I’m used to.”
Does racing at Michigan bear any resemblance to some of the dirt track racing you did in Kansas?
“You can search around and find your own line. If you slip up and don’t hit those exact six inches of real estate in the corner, you can stumble along another line sometimes. That’s what I like about tracks like Michigan. You can get a little opening and have some breathing room between the guys behind you and search around for a couple laps. You can try different lines – try one the bottom, try the middle, try the top. That’s what reminds me of dirt racing. You get it out in clean air and get the car breathing and start searching for different lines around the race track.”
Does the draft play any role at Michigan?
“A little bit. With the speeds and the long straightaways, you can definitely draft up on someone or a group of cars but it’s also still the same old thing. You still have to be fast through the corners. Whoever can do that will win the race.”
In terms of going back and forth between the Cup race at Michigan and the Busch race at Kentucky, will this weekend be the easiest on you of the three non-companion races?
“I don’t know if it’s going to be easier but it will be a little more familiar. Everyone’s been to Kentucky and we had a good run in the Busch car last year at Michigan, so I’m pretty confident with both places.”
Can you sleep on airplanes?
“You can if you’re tired enough. Actually, I was keeping (Kevin) Harvick up last weekend on the way back from Nashville. He was trying to dose off and I kept talking to him on purpose, trying to keep him up, so he got a little grouchy. I wasn’t ready to sleep and he was trying to sleep. I didn’t want him to sleep, so I kept him up (laughs). I’m just fortunate that Kevin has a good airplane and he lets me ride along with him. It’s fast and gets us where we need to go quickly. Will (Lind) has done a good job on the Busch side of getting all the logistics worked out. It’s a pretty smooth operation.”
