Race 2 Win: Pocono 500 - Clint Bowyer Notes

Nextel Cup Series

News and Results | Point Standings | 2006 Schedule | 2006 Teams | 2005 Schedule and Results

Pocono 500 - Clint Bowyer Notes

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

Event/Date: Pocono 500 – June 11, 2006
Venue: Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, Pa.

This Week’s Race Car at Pocono Raceway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 147 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. This is the same car Bowyer raced to a 29th-place finish in March at Bristol. Built new for 2005, Dave Blaney raced this car last year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The car also saw action last fall at Bristol and Richmond. Over the winter, the car was stripped and completely rebuilt.

Back on Track With DIRECTV … For the second time this season, Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevy will sport a DIRECTV paint scheme. DIRECTV is the nation’s leading digital television service provider. DIRECTV is also the official satellite television service provider of NASCAR. The team’s customary primary sponsor, Jack Daniel’s, will be featured on the car’s lower-rear quarter panel and deck lid.

We’re Thinking About You Buddy … Barry “Hillbilly” Sheppard, transporter driver for Richard Childress Racing’s No. 07 Jack Daniel’s team, is resting comfortably at his home in Stuart, Va., after falling ill May 4 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Tests at Kent General Hospital in Dover ruled out a cardiac episode as originally suspected though an exact cause of his illness is yet to be determined. He is expected to make a full recovery but will be off the road until he receives full medical clearance. Jeff Price will fill in for the Jack Daniel’s team until Sheppard’s return.

Around the World in 14 Days … Over the next three weeks, Bowyer will trek approximately 24,000 miles, not including laps on the race track. On Monday morning, he and the Jack Daniel’s Racing Team tested at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in preparation for the upcoming Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. On Tuesday, Bowyer and veteran road racing instructor Chris Cook traveled to Infineon for two days of instruction at the 10- turn, 1.99-mile northern California road course. Upon his return from Infineon, the Emporia, Kan., native will head to Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 500. This will be the first of three consecutive weekends where he will travel back and forth between NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races and non-companion NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) events. This weekend, he travels between Pocono and Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. Next week, June 14-15, Bowyer will return to Infineon where he will participate in the Jim Russell Racing School. Next weekend, he travels between Michigan International Speedway and Kentucky Speedway. The last week in June Bowyer will enjoy some downtime, only having to travel back and forth from Infineon Raceway and The Milwaukee Mile. If all goes according to plan, Bowyer will record 1,969 miles of competition on the race track. All totaled, Bowyer is expected to log just shy of 26,000 miles. By comparison, it’s 24,902 miles around the equator.

Some Experience is Better than No Experience … Bowyer participated in the Stock Car Experience driving school at Pocono Raceway on May 24 to help familiarize himself with the tricky, triangular-shaped track. Until then, Bowyer had yet to see or log any laps at Pocono.

RCR at Pocono … RCR Team owner Richard Childress has two wins at Pocono, both of them coming with Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt won the Summer 500, on July 19, 1987 and the Miller Genuine Draft 500 on July 18, 1993. Additionally, RCR has earned one pole, nine top-five and 33 top-10 finishes at the three-turn speedway. Childress, a former driver in NASCAR’s top division, contributed two of those top 10s from 1976-1980.

Thanks for the Ride … Bowyer will travel to all three non-companion Busch Series events this month courtesy of, and along with, his RCR teammate Kevin Harvick.

It’s Miller Time … Brandon Miller will lend a hand over the next three weekends practicing and qualifying the No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet for Bowyer when the Busch Series schedule conflicts with the NEXTEL Cup schedule.

Doin’ the Double … Immediately following Saturday’s final practice at Pocono, Bowyer will depart the racetrack via helicopter and fly to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport to board Kevin Harvick’s Lear 31 before heading to Nashville for the Federated Auto Parts 300 NBS race. Live television coverage of the 15th of 35 NBS races begins Saturday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. EDT. 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, 106 points out of second and 403 markers behind leader and teammate Kevin Harvick.

Catch the Action … Live coverage of the Pocono 500 will take the green flag Sunday, June 11 at 1:30 p.m. EDT and will be telecast live on FOX. The 14th 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 televised live on SPEED Friday, June 9 at 3:30 p.m. EDT. MRN and XM Satellite Radio will also provide live qualifying updates beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:
How do you prepare, both mentally and physically, for a track like Pocono or Infineon, where you’ve never raced?
“I’ll have to lean on my teammates Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick a lot. My crew chief Gil Martin has a ton of experience at Pocono too, so there’s definitely some cushion there for me. I need to use their knowledge to my advantage. I’ll probably take a rental car ride around the track to try and get a feel for the place before practice starts. It’s going to be important to be aware of your surroundings and have a firm grasp of what you’re up against. We’re going to have to make the best of it. You don’t go to a race track where you’ve never been before, especially a place like Pocono, and expect to win. At the same time, I know if the circumstances are right, we can win. We’ll try to get everything we can out of it, stay out of trouble and hopefully have a good day. I know the car will be capable of running up front. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be pretty stout when it comes time to race. ”

You attended the Stock Car Experience at Pocono a couple weeks ago. How much did that help?
“It was a huge help. The cars weren’t as fast or handle quite like a Cup car does but it was important to at least make some laps. I guess I made 60 or so laps and figured out some things about the corners. At the very least, I’ve got a comfort level with Pocono and that’s more than I had heading into Martinsville earlier this year.”

You’ve also got a very busy three weeks ahead of you with all the non-companion Busch races. Do you feel like you’ve got a pretty daunting task in front of you?
“Honestly, I’m approaching these three weeks like I would any other. A couple of things that I’ll have to be very aware of are how much sleep I’m getting, eating right and staying hydrated. If you don’t stay on top of that stuff, you can probably get run down pretty easily. Everyone has done a great job logistically and keeping me informed how everything is going to work. I had a minute-by-minute schedule for the next three weeks in my hand last weekend at Dover, so we’ve got a pretty good handle on everything. Uncle Kevin (Harvick) has a pretty nice airplane that he agreed to let me ride in (laughs). It should be fine as long as the weather cooperates.”

News and Results | Point Standings | 2006 Schedule | 2006 Teams | 2005 Schedule and Results