Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Subway Fresh Fit 500 - Clint Bowyer Notes

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

Event/Date: Subway Fresh Fit 500 – April 21, 2007
Venue: Phoenix International Raceway – Avondale, Ariz.

NOTES:

This Week’s DIRECTV Chevrolet at Phoenix International Raceway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 192 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new this season, this is the same “Car of Tomorrow” Bowyer raced to an eighth-place finish last month at Bristol (started 18th). The Emporia, Kan., native also finished 11th with this car two races ago at Martinsville Speedway (started 21st).

Dialed in with DIRECTV … Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevy will sport a DIRECTV paint scheme this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). DIRECTV is the nation’s leading digital television service provider and 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 panels and deck lid.

Bowyer in the Loop …
o Phoenix Facts … In three NEXTEL Cup starts at PIR, Bowyer has one top-five finish. Additionally, the Emporia, Kan., native has a 17.7 starting average and a 20th-place finishing average. He has completed all but seven laps in those three starts and has earned just over $250,000.
o Strong Sophomore Start … In the season’s first seven races, Bowyer has earned three top-10 finishes and has only finished outside the top 20 once. He currently enjoys a solid 13.4 starting average and a 14.4 finishing average. The 27-year-old driver has completed 2,353 of the 2,382 total laps run this season (98.78 percent) and is sixth in the championship point standings. Over those same seven races last season, Bowyer’s average start was 26.6 coupled with an 18.9 finishing average. He was 13th in points at this time last year.
o Since We’re Talking Stats … Bowyer is ranked 11th in NASCAR’s Average Running Position category (14.415) and is currently the sport’s third best Closer – a statistic derived from the number of positions improved over the last 10 percent of each race. He is 10th in the Driver Rating category (88.6). The Driver Rating is a formula that combines the following categories: wins, finishes, 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 PIR … In 42 races at Phoenix, RCR has earned three wins including Kevin Harvick’s sweep of both races at PIR last season. Prior to that, Dale Earnhardt won the Checker 500 on November 4, 1990. Additionally, RCR boasts 10 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes at the one-mile desert-oval.

Four to Go … RCR has earned a NEXTEL Cup Series victory at 18 of the 22 tracks on the 2007 schedule. With Jeff Burton’s win last week at Texas Motor Speedway, the only tracks on the current schedule where RCR hasn’t earned wins are California Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Additionally, RCR has NEXTEL Cup wins at 21 tracks, the three defunct tracks being North Wilkesboro, Riverside and Rockingham. First Impressions are Everything … The Subway Fresh Fit 500 will mark the two-year anniversary of Bowyer’s first NEXTEL Cup start. Bowyer qualified 25th and went on to finish 22nd in RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet on April 23, 2005 at PIR.

Meet the Press … Bowyer will be available behind the No. 07 transporter on Thursday, April 19 at 2:30 p.m. to field questions from the gathered media.

Double Down in the Desert … After a near month-long hiatus from Busch Series action, Bowyer returns to the seat of RCR’s No. 2 Chevy this weekend as Camping World debuts it sponsorship of the No. 2 entry. Camping World will also sponsor Bowyer’s Busch Series program next weekend at Talladega, June 30 at New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS) and in July at Chicagoland Speedway. Additionally, Camping World will sponsor Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevrolet in the NEXTEL Cup races at NHIS July 1 and at Pocono Raceway on August 5. Live television coverage of the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 from Phoenix International Raceway will take the green flag Friday, April 20 beginning at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on ESPN2. The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the ninth race on the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series slate will be televised live on SPEED the same day at 5:30 p.m. EDT.

Up to Speed … Live coverage of the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 will take the green flag Saturday, April 21 beginning at 8p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast worldwide on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the eighth of 36 points-paying races on the 2007 NEXTEL Cup schedule will be televised live on SPEED Thursday, April 19 at 8 p.m. EDT.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:
You finished fifth in the spring race at Phoenix last year and it’s the same track where you made you NEXTEL Cup debut. You must feel pretty good heading into this weekend.
“I led laps at Phoenix and that was our first big finish as a team. I really like the short tracks and the “Car of Tomorrow” has been really good for us. Bristol and Martinsville haven’t been my favorite places and we ran really well. Traditionally, Phoenix has been a good track for us so, hopefully, history will repeat itself and we can put ourselves in position to race for a win.”

Like you mentioned, historically, you’ve been really good at Phoenix. What is it about the race track that lends itself to your driving style?
“It’s a racy race track. It kind of reminds me of driving a dirt car. You have to carry a lot of momentum through the center of the corner, be able to get the car pointed, drive it straight and have a good drive up off. It’s a fun race track. I like it and that usually helps a little bit.”

How close is this team to winning?
“I just want to keep doing what we're doing and not lose focus. If we can race for a win, you're darned right we're going to race for a win. In Las Vegas, that's the one time this year we had a very fast car and I made the mistake of pushing too hard and trying to race for that win. I'm not going to do that again. If we have a fifth-place car, we're going to finish fifth. If we have a 10th-place car, we're going to finish 10th. There's no more 'we've got a 15th-place car and we're going to win with it.’ That doesn't work."

Since we’re getting our first look at the Car of Tomorrow outside of a half-mile, do you think we’ll start to see a little more of what this car is all about?
“I think Darlington and Dover are going to be the races where we see that. I expect things to be a little wild at those places but I’m really looking forward to Phoenix, especially considering how well we came out of Bristol and Martinsville. I wasn’t a big fan of the Car of Tomorrow but we seem to run good in it. As long as that stays in effect, I guess I can start liking it.”