Race 2 Win: Subway Fresh 500 - Clint Bowyer Notes

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Subway Fresh 500 - Clint Bowyer Notes

Clint Bowyer
No. 07 Sylvania Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Subway Fresh 500 – April 22, 2006
Venue: Phoenix International Raceway – Avondale, Ariz.

This Week’s Race Car at Phoenix International Raceway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 141 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new for 2005, this is the same Sylvania Chevrolet Bowyer raced to a 22nd-place finish last April at PIR in his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series debut. Dave Blaney also raced the same car last May at Richmond, at both races at New Hampshire, last June at Pocono and last October at Martinsville.

Lighting up the Field … Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevy will sport an orange and white Sylvania paint scheme this weekend at Phoenix. Headquartered in Danvers, Mass., OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American lighting operation of OSRAM GmbH. Together they are the second-largest lighting and materials enterprise in the world, serving customers in more than 140 countries. OSRAM SYLVANIA manufactures and markets a wide range of lighting products, including automotive, electronic and magnetic ballasts, and precision materials and components for industrial and commercial users, original equipment manufacturers and consumers, sold primarily under the SYLVANIA brand name, but also under the OSRAM brand. OSRAM SYLVANIA also offers lighting systems installation and maintenance services. Bowyer’s standard primary sponsor, Jack Daniel’s, is featured on the car’s lower-rear quarter panel and on the trunk lid this week.

And Crown Thy Good With Brotherhood … Bowyer visited Luke Air Force Base in Goodyear, Ariz., on Wednesday, April 5, as part of PIR’s “Salute to Military Families” program. Salute to Military Families is a program developed by PIR and in cooperation with NEXTEL, to thank those who serve our country, along with their families, by organizing military base visits featuring NASCAR drivers and providing tickets to military families for the Subway Fresh 500.

First Impressions are Everything … The Subway Fresh 500 will mark the one-year anniversary of Bowyer’s first NEXTEL Cup start. Bowyer qualified 25th and went on to finish 22nd in RCR’s No. 33 Sylvania Chevrolet last spring at PIR. In the Loop … According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Bowyer leads all NEXTEL Cup Series drivers with 661 green flag passes for position in 2006. Bowyer also leads the way with 151 backstretch passes this season and is second to Casey Mears with 145 passes on the frontstretch.

Testing One, Two, Three, Testing … Bowyer and the No. 07 team tested at Richmond International Raceway on April 11-12 in preparation for next month’s 400-mile race at RIR. The test was the third of six allowed under NASCAR’s 2006 testing policy. The remaining tests available to teams in NASCAR’s top division will be conducted at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (May 1-3), Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 10-12) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 16-18).

Quiet on the Set … On Monday, April 17, Bowyer and crew chief Gil Martin were on location at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., shooting a television commercial for sponsor DIRECTV. The spot features Martin coaching Bowyer on the race track and in the pits while explaining how race teams on pit road benefit from DIRECTV’s live, NASCAR race coverage. The spot is scheduled to debut next weekend during the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

So Much for an Off Weekend … While the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series enjoyed a rare weekend off over the Easter Holiday, Bowyer was in Nashville racing the No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet to a runner-up finish in the NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway. His RCR teammate Kevin Harvick beat Bowyer to the checkered flag by a scant .503 seconds. Harvick and Bowyer are first and third, respectively, in the NBS championship point standings.

Double the Experience … Bowyer will once again return to the seat of RCR’s No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet on Friday, April 21, in the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 NBS race. The race will be televised live on FX beginning at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and also broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Bowyer is currently third in the NBS championship battle, 209 points behind leader and teammate Kevin Harvick and 53 behind second-place Denny Hamlin. Meet the Driver … … Bowyer will sign autographs at the Jack Daniel’s souvenir trailer located on souvenir row at PIR, Saturday, April 22 from 1:30 – 2 p.m. Tickets for autographs will be available at the trailer the morning of the race and are limited due to time constraints.

Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Subway Fresh 500 from Phoenix International Raceway will take the green flag Saturday, April 22 at 8 p.m. EDT and will be telecast live on FOX. The event will also be broadcast live on MRN and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the eighth of 36 races on the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series tour will air live on SPEED, MRN and XM Satellite Radio Friday, April 20 at 8:30 p.m. EDT.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:

You made your Cup debut at Phoenix so you’ve got a little better idea of what you’re getting into this time. How do you feel about making your second NEXTEL Cup start at PIR?
“I’m looking forward to it. We almost won the Busch race last fall at Phoenix so I’ve go a lot of confidence going in. I like that type of race track. It’s a flat one-mile and it’s very racy. It’s a track where you can adjust on the car, make it better and go to the front. Hopefully, we’ll get that Sylvania Chevrolet up front where it belongs and have a good finish.”

What makes Phoenix so racy?
“It’s just the right size. Aero is definitely a big part of it but not as much as getting into the corner at 200 mph at a race track like Texas or Atlanta. You have to have your car turning good in the center of the corner but then again you have to drive the wheels off of it too. Another thing I like about Phoenix, and race tracks that are like it, are the differences between the corners. Turns 1 and 2 are tight and Turns 3 and 4 are pretty long and sweeping. You’re not going to find a perfect set up and go out there and wax everybody. You have to carry the car in one corner to be good in the other. You have to find a happy medium, so it’s up to you. You have a little more control over your destiny at a track like that.”

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