Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Checker Auto Parts 500 - Clint Bowyer Notes

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

Event/Date: Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil – November 11, 2007
Venue: Phoenix International Raceway – Avondale, Ariz.

NOTES:

This Week’s Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet at Phoenix International Raceway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 212 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) NASCAR Cup Series stable. Built new for 2007, this is the same Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet that sat on the pole and won in September at New Hampshire International Speedway. Additionally, Bowyer raced this car to a 12th-place finish September 8 at Richmond International Raceway.

Back Where it Started … Bowyer made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) on April 23, 2005. The 28-year-old driver started 25th and finished 22nd driving RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet. Since then, the Cup Series sophomore pilot has recorded two poles, one win, nine top fives, 28 top 10s and led 499 laps in his first two season’s on NASCAR’s senior circuit.

Keep on Plugging … In the eight races since the Chase for the NASCAR Cup began (New Hampshire, Dover, Kansas, Talladega, Charlotte, Martinsville, Atlanta and Texas), Bowyer has earned one pole, his first career win, three top-five and five top-10 finishes. With the exception of Dover and Texas, the sophomore driver has either tied or recorded career-best finishes at six of the eight stops. Of the 12 drivers in the Chase, Bowyer ranks third in the Percentage of Laps Led (11.6) and fourth in the Driver Rating categories (98.3). Bowyer has logged a solid 7.8 average finish in the eight Chase races, and only trails points leader Jimmie Johnson (5.3) and second-place Jeff Gordon (4.6) in that category.

Bowyer in the Loop …

Filled in on Phoenix … In four NASCAR Cup Series starts at PIR, Bowyer has a fifth-place finish to call a career best. The Emporia, Kan., native has a 16.3 starting average and a 21st-place average finish at the flat one-mile race course. Bowyer is the defending NASCAR Busch Series winner at PIR after snaring the checkered flag April 20 in the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200.

What a Difference a Year Makes … Over the season’s first 34 races, Bowyer has recorded one win, two poles, five top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. He has a 17.2 starting average and a 13.2 average finish. He has completed 9,883 of 10,003 total laps contested (98.8 percent) and sits third in the NASCAR Cup Series championship point standings, 181 points behind Johnson and 151 behind Gordon. The Cup Series sophomore driver maintains a comfortable 158-point lead over fourth-place Kyle Busch and a 178-point margin over Carl Edwards in fifth. Heading into the division’s second stop at PIR last season, Bowyer had a 20.6 starting average a 19.6 average finish and was 17th in points. He had four top fives and 10 top 10s at this point during his rookie year.

Speaking of Stats … Bowyer is the NASCAR Cup Series’ 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 1.676 spots over the season’s first 34 races and has improved a total of 57 positions over the closing 10 percent of those same races. He has also logged 5,793 of the 10,003 laps completed this season (57.9 percent) running in the top 15. Bowyer is ranked 12th in NASCAR’s Average Running Position category (15.309) and is also 11th in the Driver Rating category (87.6). 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 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 45 races at Phoenix, RCR has earned three victories 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 18 top-10 finishes at the suburban Phoenix race track.

I’m Sorry … Bowyer has yet to record a DNF (did not finish) in 2007. He and Harvick are the only two Chase drivers to have finished every race this season. Bowyer has been running at the end of every race dating back to Phoenix last November, a streak of 35 races. It was previously reported that Bowyer’s last DNF came at Bristol last August. Our apologies for the error.

Don’t Miss a Beat … This weekend, Bowyer’s Jack Daniel’s Chevy will be one of five cars featured on DIRECTV’s HotPass Coverage. With a channel dedicated solely to the Jack Daniel’s Chevy during the Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil, fans will be able to watch all the action through DIRECTV’s multiple camera angles, real-time car telemetry and listen to in-car audio communication. NASCAR HotPass, only on DIRECTV, features five driver channels including dedicated announcers for each team. The service, combined with race day telecasts and nascar.com coverage, gives fans the most comprehensive and powerful NASCAR experience possible. Bowyer’s team will be showcased on DIRECTV channel 798 with Steve Byrnes and Jeff Hammond providing lap-by-lap coverage. DIRECTV customers can purchase the remainder of the season for $19.99 – a savings of $80 off the full season price. More information is available on www.directv.com/hotpass.

Rome is Burning … Bowyer will be a featured guest on ESPN’s Jim Rome is Burning show on Wednesday, November 7. The Emporia, Kan., driver will discuss his position in the Chase for the NASCAR Cup and his season to date with veteran TV and talk radio host Jim Rome. Jim Rome is Burning airs weekdays on ESPN at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Quiet on the Set … On Tuesday, November 6, Bowyer participated in a commercial shoot at Concord (N.C.) Motorsports Park for the “NASCAR Home Track” campaign. Launched in 2007, the NASCAR Home Tracks brand represents approximately 70 tracks that host NASCAR regional and local racing. The brand was introduced as a national advertising campaign that included TV, radio, print and web advertising. The 2008 campaign will be a continuation of the 2007 effort to raise awareness and interest in NASCAR’s regional touring series and local racing.

50 Years and Counting … To help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Chevrolet Impala nameplate and the 50th running of the Daytona 500, Chevrolet will offer 50 race fans from 50 different states a once-in-a-lifetime weekend experience at the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17, 2008. At the same time, 10 of those individuals will win a brand new Chevy Impala. Beginning on Oct. 16 and through Dec. 3, fans can visit www.chevy.com/Daytona500 to enter.

A Little Taste of Lynchburg … Bowyer will appear at the Jack Daniel’s Experience Sunday, November 11 from 10:45 a.m. – 11 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 will be located in the speedway’s display area, inside Gate 7, and will be open on Friday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., on Saturday from 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Double Duty in the Desert … In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, Bowyer returns to the seat of the No. 2 BB&T Chevy for this weekend’s NASCAR Busch Series race at PIR. Live coverage of the Arizona Travel 200 from Phoenix International Raceway will be televised live on ESPN2 Saturday, November 10 beginning at 4 p.m. EST. The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 34th of 35 races on the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series calendar will be televised live on SPEED the same day beginning at noon EST.

Catch the Action … The Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil will take the green flag Sunday, November 11 at 3:30 p.m. EST. The race will be televised live on ABC beginning at 3 p.m. EST and broadcast worldwide on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the ninth round of NASCAR’s 10-race playoffs will be televised live on ESPN2 Friday, November 9 at 5:30 p.m. EST. MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will provide qualifying updates live.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES
You made your Cup Series debut at Phoenix at the spring race in 2005. Does that make Phoenix a special place for you?
“Phoenix is definitely one of my favorites. I usually run well and I really enjoy racing there. It’s one of those places where I genuinely have fun while I’m out on the race track so I’m looking forward to it. We’re taking the car that we won with at New Hampshire so, hopefully, we can go to Phoenix this weekend and win again.”

It seems like your career really took off after you made that first Cup start. Do you ever think about how much you’ve learned in a short amount of time?
“Honestly, it’s all about learning but it just takes time. I’ve tried really hard to learn from some of these guys. My teammates Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick have helped me tremendously. I can’t even begin to explain how they’ve accelerated the learning curve for me. Those guys and my crew chief Gil Martin have taught me how to get to the end of these 500-mile races. That’s where I feel like I’ve gained more than any other area. Certainly, getting to the end has been key but, more importantly, it’s about being in position to get a good finish when the checkers fall. There’s a lot to be said about knowing how to manipulate your track position to be there at the end and that’s where Gil has really paved the way for me. There’s a lot of strategy and a lot of planning from how I drive the car to how Gil makes a particular call. I’ve learned how to pick and choose my battles and that’s important because there are a lot of them over the course of these races.”

What makes Phoenix so unique and why are you such a big fan of that race track?
“Both corners are quite a bit different. Turns 1 and 2 are very tight and turns 3 and 4 are wide open. The dogleg adds some character, too. It’s a flat race track and there’s plenty of room to race. You can run high or down on the bottom. You have to work on getting your car to turn good and, if you do that, you can turn under ‘em all day long. If you really hit the set up, you feel like Superman out there. If you don’t you’re going to struggle. That’s why Friday and Saturday’s practices are so important.”