Race 2 Win: Chevy Rock & Roll 400

Nextel Cup Series

Chevy Rock & Roll 400 - Clint Bowyer Notes

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

Event/Date: Chevy Rock & Roll 400 – September 9, 2006
Venue: Richmond International Raceway – Richmond, Va.

This Week’s Race Car at Richmond International Raceway … Clint Bowyer will pilot chassis No. 136 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. This is the same Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Bowyer raced to a 22nd-place finish in April at Martinsville and to a 17th-place result at Dover in June. Built new for 2005, Dave Blaney drove the car last spring in the NEXTEL Open at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Blaney also raced this car last June at Michigan and last November at Phoenix. Since then, with the exception of the chassis’ center section, the car has been rebuilt from the ground up.

It Just Keeps Getting Better … With his third-place effort last weekend at California Speedway, Bowyer earned Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors and notched his career-best finish in 26 NEXTEL Cup Series starts. The strong result marked his third top-five and seventh top-10 of his freshman campaign. Bowyer moved from 20th to 18th in the NEXTEL Cup point standings and sits just six points behind Jamie McMurray in 17th, 22 behind Ryan Newman in 16th and a scant 57 markers behind 15th-place Casey Mears.

Doin’ it on Pit Road … Mr. Jack’s pit crew won the Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge in last weekend’s Sony HD 500 at California Speedway. Checkers/Rally’s will award the Jack Daniels crew with the $10,500 prize given each week to the team that spends the least amount of time on pit road. In addition, the crew that scores most pit crew challenge wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule will receive a $105,000 bonus. The “Old No. 7 Gang” is now tied for second with the No. 20 team with three wins on the year. Bowyer’s over-the-wall team includes: Carey Wimbish (jackman), Dail Long (front-tire carrier), Shane Westerberg (front-tire changer), Dustin Stanley (rear-tire carrier), Jake Lind (rear-tire changer), Ron Liddell (gasman), Clint Almquist (catch can) and Troy Welty (windshield). The team’s pit stop coordinator is Corinne Mauldin.

Batting .1000 … In four starts at Richmond, including NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series races, Bowyer has completed every lap of competition and has yet to finish any worse than 11th.

RCR at RIR … Richard Childress is tied for fifth with Roger Penske for car owner victories at Richmond with five wins – all of them coming with Dale Earnhardt. Additionally, RCR boasts 27 top-five and 41 top-10 finishes at the three-quarter mile Virginia oval with eight different drivers including Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Mike Skinner, Kevin Harvick, Robby Gordon, Jeff Green and Clint Bowyer. Childress, a former driver on NASCAR’s senior circuit, contributed three of those top 10s from 1976-1978.

Meet the Driver … On behalf of DIRECTV, Bowyer will sign autographs on Thursday, September 7 from 5-7 p.m. at Circuit City, 11732 West Broad Street in Glen Allen, Va.

Busch Racing at Richmond … As usual, Bowyer will return to the seat of the No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet for this weekend’s Emerson Radio 250 NASCAR Busch Series race. The 28th race on the 2006 Busch Series calendar will be televised live in TNT Friday, September 8 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Bowyer is fourth in the NASCAR Busch Series championship chase, 93 points out of third and 145 behind second. Bowyer’s RCR teammate Kevin Harvick continues to hold a commanding 567-point lead over Carl Edwards in second place.

Catch the Action … Live coverage of the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 from Richmond International Raceway will take the green flag Saturday, September 9 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on TNT and broadcast from coast to coast on MRN and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 26th race on the 2006 NEXTEL Cup schedule will be televised live on TNT Friday, September 8 beginning at 6 p.m. EDT. MRN and XM Satellite Radio will provide live radio coverage.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:

You hear so many drivers talk about how much they love Richmond. Is it the same for you?
“Absolutely. Richmond is the perfect race track and it’s the perfect size. Racing at night at Richmond is always a lot of fun. It takes everyone back to their roots – racing on Saturday night in front of a big crowd. We had a good car at Richmond in the spring and finished in the top 10 so, hopefully, we can do the same thing again.

Is Richmond a place where chances are you’re not going to come out of there without a few scratches but at the same time, you’re working hard not to beat and bang too much?
“Usually, the guy who wins has a clean car and all four fenders are on it. Nine times out of 10, that’s the case in the Cup Series. It’s hard to stay out of trouble and keep all four fenders intact. Even at a short track like Richmond, aerodynamics is crucial. You wouldn’t think so but I know firsthand. I ripped my right-front fender off during the Busch race last year that everyone thought we had wrapped up. It wasn’t so much the case after that.”

What is your focus with 11 races to go?
“First of all, definitely to help my teammates Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick get into the Chase. Both of those guys have been running good all year and deserve to be in. It looks like Kevin has his spot pretty well wrapped up but it’s going to be close for Jeff. We’ll do whatever it takes to help the No. 31 guys get in. After that, we want to get this Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet as close to 11th as we can. We’ve got a long row to hoe but I think we can do it.”