Clint Bowyer
No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Impala SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Toyota/Save Mart 350 – June 24, 2007
Venue: Infineon Raceway – Sonoma, Calif.
This Week’s Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet at Infineon Raceway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 194 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. This is the same car Bowyer raced to a ninth-place finish earlier this season at Richmond International Raceway. Since then, the car has been fitted with a new front chassis clip to make it suitable for road racing.
Bowyer in the Loop …
A Little Background … In his only start at Infineon Raceway, Bowyer started 28th, finished 16th and completed all 110 laps. He also started and finished 14th in his lone NEXTEL Cup start at Watkins Glen.
A Steady Progression … Over the season’s first 15 races, Bowyer has earned one pole and seven top-10 finishes. He has a 15.9 starting and finishing average. The 28-year-old driver has completed 4,650 of 4,759 total laps contested (97.71 percent) and sits ninth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship point standings. Over the first 15 races last season, Bowyer had a 21.3 average start and a 20.4 average finish. He was 18th in points heading into the Sonoma Valley last year.
Speaking of Stats … Bowyer is ranked 13th in NASCAR’s Average Running Position category (16.168) and is currently the sport’s second best Closer – a statistic derived from the number of positions improved over the last 10 percent of each race. Bowyer has gained an average of 2.667 spots over the season’s first 14 races and has improved a total 40 positions over the closing 10 percent of those same races. He is 15th in the Driver Rating category (82.3). The Driver Rating is a formula that combines the following categories: wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum points a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The Driver Rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
RCR at Infineon … Richard Childress is tied for third on the Infineon Raceway all-time car owner win list. Dale Earnhardt won the 1995 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 and Robby Gordon won the Dodge/Save Mart 350 in 2003. Additionally, in 34 starts at the 10-turn stadium course, RCR owns one pole, seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.
Throwing Him in the Deep End … RCR development driver Tim McCreadie will make his first NASCAR Busch Series start this weekend at The Milwaukee Mile behind the wheel of RCR’s No. 21 Camping World Chevrolet. McCreadie, 33, of Watertown, N.Y. has only three career asphalt starts to his credit and finished fourth in his ARCA Series debut last weekend Michigan International Speedway. Prior to last Friday, McCreadie finished 11th in his NASCAR West Series debut in April at Phoenix International Raceway and followed that up with a 10th-place run on May 20 at Iowa Speedway. McCreadie is the 2006 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals winner and the defending World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champion.
Remembering Michael Ross … On Wednesday, June 20 Bowyer along, Kasey Kahne, Dave Marcis and NHRA racers Ron Capps and Gary Scelzi will participate in a celebrity race of champions at the Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo. In addition to the race of champions, the World of Outlaws Sprintcars and World of Outlaws Winged 360 Sprints will be part of the evening’s racing card. Proceeds from the event will go the benefit the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation. For more information about the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation logon to michaelrossmemorialfoundation.com.
Meet the Driver … On behalf of Jack Daniel’s, Bowyer will appear on the mezzanine above the Tolay restaurant at the Sheraton Sonoma County – Petaluma Hotel on Friday, June 22 from 7-8:30 p.m. The hotel is located at 745 Baywood Drive in Petaluma. Bowyer will be on hand to greet race fans and sign autographs.
Up to Speed … The Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Infineon Raceway will take the green flag Sunday, June 24th at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The race will be televised live on TNT beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT and broadcast from coast-to-coast on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying will be televised live on SPEED Friday, June 22nd at 7 p.m. EDT.
CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:
What kind of road racer are you?
“We were good at Sonoma last year. For some reason, I’ve always struggled at Watkins Glen and I don’t know why but Sonoma is a track where I ran well so I’m looking forward to going back. Sonoma is a really technical track and that’s what I like about it. You have to concentrate on your line and there’s not a whole lot of room for error. If you slip up a little bit it will cost you in a big way. “
What’s the toughest part about teaching a dirt racer to be a road racer?
“I didn’t grow up racing go-karts like a lot of guys did. Most of these guys started road racing on go-karts when they were really young and I just didn’t do that. I didn’t have that opportunity so I’m playing catch up in that regard. It’s all about experience, making laps and seat time. I feel like as I spend more time on road courses I get better. I was out at Sonoma last year with Chris Cook and he taught me a ton.”
How do you think the new car will perform on a road course?
“It’s definitely going to be tougher to drive but that’s the nature of this car. Everybody is going to fight it but some guys are going to hit on a package that works and other guys won’t. Obviously, some teams have hit on something with the new cars that a lot of others haven’t. The Hendrick and Gibbs cars are very strong and we’re getting better too. We’ve been testing our road race stuff over at VIR (Virginia International Raceway) so hopefully that’s going to pay off for us.”
