Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Samsung 500 - Clint Bowyer Notes

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

Event/Date: Samsung 500 – April 15, 2007
Venue: Texas Motor Speedway – Ft. Worth, Texas

NOTES:

This Week’s Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 146 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new in 2005, Dave Blaney raced this car twice at Pocono two years ago, as well as at Chicagoland Speedway and at California Speedway in September of the same year. Last year, Bowyer drove this Jack Daniel’s Chevy at Texas in April (St. 12 - Fn. 19), at Chicagoland (St. 38 - Fn. 9), and at Dover last fall (St. 16, Fn. 6). Since then, the car has received all of the required 2007 updates in addition to a new body and rear clip.

Bowyer in the Loop … o Texas Totals … In two NEXTEL Cup starts at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS), Bowyer has one top-five and two top-20 finishes. Additionally, the Emporia, Kan., native has earned a 13th-place starting average, a 12th-place finishing average and has completed 672 of the 673 laps contested at the ultra-fast, high-banked quad-oval. o Strong Sophomore Start … In the season’s first six races, Bowyer has earned three top-10 finishes and has only finished outside the top 20 once. He currently enjoys a solid 14.5 starting average and a 14.2 finishing average. The 27-year-old driver has completed 2,020 of the 2,048 total laps run this season (98.63 percent) and is seventh in the championship point standings. Over those same six races last season, Bowyer’s average start was 29th coupled with an 18.8 finishing average. He was 16th in points at this time last year. o Since We’re Talking Stats … Bowyer is ranked eighth in NASCAR’s Average Running Position category (13.195) 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 eighth in the Driver Rating category (91.3). 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.

Hot Set Up … This weekend, Bowyer and the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s racing team will be featured on DIRECTV’s NASCAR HotPass coverage. With a channel dedicated solely to “Mr. Jack’s Crew” during the Samsung 500, fans will be able to watch all the action through Direct TV’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 new 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 Hermie Sadler and Randy Pemberton providing the lap-by-lap coverage. DIRECTV customers can now purchase the service at a full-season package price of $99 or on a pay-per-week basis for $29.99. More information is available on www.directv.com/hotpass.

Meet the Driver … On behalf of Chevrolet, Bowyer will appear at Chevy Thunder at Sundance Square, in the heart of downtown Ft. Worth, Friday, April 13 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Chevy Thunder is a free family festival featuring concerts, interactive games, show cars and a Team Chevy driver autograph session. For more information log on to www.chevythunderdays.com.

One Trophy Missing from the Shelf … In 31 races at TMS, dating back to 1997, team owner Richard Childress has yet to take home the winner’s trophy. Over that span, the Welcome, N.C.-based operation has earned three top-five and nine top-10 finishes with drivers Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Bowyer and Jeff Green. However, Childress, a former driver in NASCAR’s top division, earned a pair of top 10s while he was still behind the wheel at Texas World Speedway in College Station.

Make it Four … Scott Wimmer will attempt to make his 2007 NEXTEL Cup debut this weekend at TMS behind the wheel of the No. 33 Holiday Inn Chevrolet Monte Carlo, giving RCR four entries in the Samsung 500.

R07 for RCR … RCR will utilize Chevy’s new R07 motor this weekend when Wimmer hits the track with the No. 33 Chevy on Friday afternoon. Per NASCAR regulations, the R07 displaces a maximum of 358 cubic inches. In contrast to the SB2’s “mirror port” cylinder heads, the R07’s cylinder heads resemble production LS-series small-block cylinder heads with alternating intake and exhaust valves. While production small-block V-8 engines employ electronic fuel injection, the R07 port layout is optimized for the single four-barrel carburetor mandated by NASCAR. The R07’s key technical advances over the SB2 include 4.500-inch cylinder bore centers (vs. 4.400 inches in the SB2), a raised camshaft that improves valvetrain dynamics, a new six-bolt head bolt pattern that reduces cylinder bore distortion, and a targeted cooling system that minimizes temperatures at critical locations. A cast camshaft tunnel, integral piston squirter galleries, and overhead oil feed galleries reduce engine assembly time. Relocating the fuel pump to the inboard side of the car and eliminating external oil and coolant lines enhance safety. RCR was the first team in the NEXTEL Cup ranks to exercise Chevrolet’s new engine combination when Wimmer attempted to qualify for the Kobalt Tools 500 last month at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Samsung 500 from Texas Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, April 15 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast worldwide on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the seventh of 36 points-paying races on the 2007 NEXTEL Cup schedule will be televised live on SPEED Friday, April 13 at 5 p.m. EDT.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES
You’ve had three top 10s in the opening six races. That’s a pretty good start.
“Except for a couple of occasions, things have gone really well. Obviously, Las Vegas is a sore spot. I had a really good car and should have finished in the top five. Instead, we wound up wrecked and finished in the back. It’s been a good season so far and for the most part, things are going our way. Hopefully, we can keep Lady Luck on our side and try and control our own destiny.”

What are your thoughts about what the Jack Daniel’s team did at Texas last year and how do you feel heading into this weekend?
“Well, we should have finished in the top 10 last spring but we got some help off of turn two on the last lap and I spun out. So that 19th-place finish doesn’t really reflect how we ran. The fall race was really good for us. I think we can go back there and have a top-five car and possibly race for a win. If I had to call a race for us to win, I think it’s going to be on a mile-and-a-half -- I really do. I’ll tell you, the guys have really surprised me. I surprised myself at Bristol and Martinsville. We had a top-five car at both places and if it weren’t for circumstances at the end we would have been right there.”

After two weeks in a row of racing the “Car of Tomorrow,” are you eager to get back to the traditional Monte Carlo?
"I can't wait to get back to the normal car and what we're used to and not worrying about touching somebody with the splitter, whether the splitter will fall off or if the wing is going to be in the stands if you hit the wall or anything else – just getting back to what we know. I really feel like we have a good package. We ran well there in the fall race with the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet so I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to Texas this weekend."