Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Food City 500 - Clint Bowyer Notes

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

Event/Date: Food City 500 – March 25, 2007
Venue: Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, Tenn.

NOTES:

This Week’s Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 192 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. This is a brand-new Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet built from the ground up specifically for this weekend’s Food City 500.

RCR at Bristol … In 96 NEXTEL Cup Series starts at Bristol, RCR boasts eight wins – seven with Dale Earnhardt and one with Kevin Harvick – three poles, 23 top-five and 42 top-10 finishes. Additionally, in 32 starts, RCR Busch Series teams have claimed five wins – four with Harvick and one with Jeff Green – three poles, 15 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes.

Car of Today … NASCAR’s next-generation race car, the “Car of Tomorrow” (COT), makes its competition debut Sunday in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). The culmination of a seven-year project by NASCAR’s Research & Development Center, the new car offers major safety enhancements along with performance and competition improvements and cost management for teams. The COT is being introduced on a multi-year schedule and will compete in 16 of this season’s 36 NEXTEL Cup events.

Return of the Impala … After two years of conducting wind tunnel and track testing, developing scale models, submitting designs and collaborating with its teams, GM Racing is ready for the Impala SS debut this weekend at Bristol. The race will mark the first of 16 Car of Tomorrow races in 2007 as well as the return of Chevrolet's Impala nameplate to NASCAR competition. After introducing the Impala in 1957 (as a 1958 model) drivers immediately took to the car with Bob Welborn winning the 1959 Daytona 500. In 1960 Rex White won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship and Ned Jarrett followed that up with a second consecutive NASCAR title for the Impala in 1961. Stock-car legend Junior Johnson also ran the famous white No. 3 Impala in 1963 collecting seven wins, 12 top fives, 13 top 10s and nine pole positions in 32 races.

Testing, One, Two, Three, Testing … Bowyer and the Jack Daniel’s Racing Team tested at BMS February 28-March 1 in preparation for the Food City 500. This test was the third of seven allowed under NASCAR’s 2007 testing policy. The remaining tests available to teams in NASCAR’s top division will be conducted at Richmond International Raceway (April 3-4), Lowe’s Motor Speedway (May 7-8), Dover International Speedway (May 14-15) and Talladega Superspeedway (Sept. 10-11). Media Availability … Bowyer will be available outside the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet transporter on Friday, March 23 at 9:45 a.m. to field questions from the gathered press.

Back on Track with Mr. Jack … After showcasing a DIRECTV NASCAR HotPass paint scheme last weekend at Atlanta, Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevy will return to its traditional black and white Jack Daniel’s paint scheme this weekend at Bristol.

Tennessee Tradition … Located just over 300 miles from Bristol, the Jack Daniel’s Distillery was officially registered with the U.S. government in 1866. The Jack Daniel Distillery, Lem Motlow, Proprietor, is the oldest registered distillery in the United States and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Jack Daniel’s is sold in over 135 countries, but every drop is distilled, matured and bottled at the Distillery in Lynchburg, (Pop. 361) Tenn., – located in a dry county.

Are you Experienced … Richard Childress will appear at the Jack Daniel’s Experience Sunday, March 25 from 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. The Jack Daniel’s Experience is a 53-foot tractor trailer filled with artifacts, state-of-the art video monitors, sound system and graphics to give race fans a taste of Lynchburg and the Distillery. The Jack Daniel’s Experience also features a full service bar and will be located on speedway grounds outside the front straightaway. The JDX will be open on Friday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., on Saturday from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. and on Sunday from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Double Duty … In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the Jack Daniel’s Chevy, Bowyer will pilot the No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet in Saturday’s Sharpie Mini 300 NASCAR Busch Series race. Live television coverage of the Sharpie Mini 300 will take the green flag Saturday, March 24 beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on ABC. The event will also be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the sixth race on the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series slate will be televised live on ESPN2 Saturday, March 24 at 11 a.m. EDT.

Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Food City 500 will take the green flag Sunday, March 25 on FOX beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The race will also be broadcast live on PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for round five of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Championship is scheduled to be televised live on SPEED Friday, March 23 at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES
At the COT test last month, it seemed like the cars wanted to hop around a lot.
“I thought we’d be racing ourselves out there for the most part. It’s definitely going be interesting. As time went on at the test, we started locking in on a better package and the car handled better and better. I’ve got a lot of faith in these guys and I know when we get back to Bristol for the race the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet will be just fine.”

RCR has always been very competitive at Bristol. You have always been competitive at Bristol. Just how different is this car compared to the car you’ve run at Bristol in the past?
“When we first got to the test, to be totally honest, I was really shocked at how poorly the car handled and how rough it was. I’ve never had my head bounce back and forth like that before. It was definitely a rough experience early on but as we got the car handling better it got through the bumps a lot better. The suspension on the old car was traveling somewhere in the neighborhood of three inches and that’s been cut in half with these cars. This car doesn’t travel like the other one and that makes for a pretty rough ride. It’s going to be wild when you get all of us out there.”

Do you think the race will be vastly different than it has been in years past?
“I think so. It’s going to be hit or miss. I think the teams that hit a set up that works are going to shine and the teams who don’t are going to struggle big time. As you look up at the leaderboard you’ll see cars that have definitely locked on to something and you’ll see cars that have struggled with it. I think the field will be spread out a lot more than we’ve ever seen at Bristol before.