Race 2 Win: Sprint Cup Series Race Notes

Sprint Cup Series

Aaron’s 499 - Clint Bowyer Notes

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

Event/Date: Aaron’s 499 – April 27, 2008
Venue: Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, Ala.

NOTES:

This Week’s DIRECTV Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 233 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for 2008, this is the same car Bowyer raced at the Daytona 500. The 28-year-old driver was leading the 50th edition of the “Great American Race” with 17 laps to go until he was spun out by another competitor. As a result, Bowyer was left with a 24th-place finish.

Drafting with DIRECTV … For the second race in a row, Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevy will feature a blue and white DIRECTV paint scheme. DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTV - News), the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 16.8 million customers in the United States and is leading the HD revolution with 95 national HD channels – more quality HD channels than any other television provider. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy access to over 265 channels of 100% digital picture and sound, exclusive programming, industry-leading customer satisfaction (which has surpassed cable for seven years running) and superior technologies that include advanced DVR and HD-DVR services and the most state-of-the-art interactive sports packages available anywhere. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please visit DIRECTV.com. Jack Daniel’s, Bowyer’s traditional primary sponsor, will be featured on the car’s deck lid and lower-rear quarter panels.

Spin to Win with DIRECTV … DIRECTV will strategically place four Mobile Pit Boxes throughout the Talladega concourse and display area for fans to enjoy a free preview of NASCAR HotPass™ Only on DIRECTV. At the Mobile Pit Boxes, fans also have the opportunity to play DIRECTV’s Spin to Win game. With one spin of the prize wheel, fans will win one of five great prizes: a DIRECTV Hat, a DIRECTV Diecast Replica Car, a free Fanview rental for the weekend - an exclusive DIRECTV offer, or the chance for an instant seat upgrade to the DIRECTV Zone. Winner’s who are upgraded to the DIRECTV Zone will enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the track from the exit of pit road near turn one, complete with catering and watch NASCAR HotPass™ Only on DIRECTV on one of nine flat screen High Definition TVs.

Talladega Tally … Talladega has been a bit of a sore spot for Bowyer, who comes into the ninth race of the season eighth in points. In four starts at the larger-than-life 2.66-mile oval, he owns a 27.5 starting average, a 30.3 finishing average and has come up short in the laps completed category, having finished just 522 of the 756 total laps run over those four races (69 percent). However, Bowyer logged a career-best effort at Talladega last October when he came home 11th and completed all 188 laps.

Loop Data Highlights …

Percentage of Laps Run on the Lead Lap … According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Bowyer is scored fifth in the Percentage of Laps Run on the Lead Lap category and has raced in the top 15 for 2,453 of the 2,699 (90.89 percent) laps run this season.

Laps in the Top 15 …, Bowyer has spent 2,053 laps (76.1 percent) racing inside the top 15. That ranks him seventh among the 49 drivers graded by NASCAR.

Laps Led … Bowyer is ninth in the Laps Led category after spending 137 laps (5.1percent) on top of the scoreboard.

Average Running Position … Bowyer is ranked 11th in the Average Running Position category. His average position over the NSCS first eight races is 13.325. That statistic is derived from the sum of his position on each lap divided by the number of laps run in each race.

Driver Rating … Meanwhile, the 28-year-old driver enjoys a 90.5 Driver Rating. 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.

A Tale of Two Weeks Ago … In the last Sprint Cup Series’ race, two weeks ago at Phoenix International Raceway, Bowyer started 24th and, thanks to sound fuel mileage strategy not only by himself but crew chief Gil Martin, went on to finish second. The runner-up effort was the No. 07 team’s best finish of the season and propelled Bowyer from 11th to eighth in points.

Keep on Rolling … Bowyer has been running at the end of every race dating back to Phoenix in November 2006, a streak of 45 races. The only other driver running at the end of more consecutive races is Bowyer’s RCR teammate Kevin Harvick who owns a streak of 52 events without a did not finish (DNF).

After the First Eight … In the season’s first eight NSCS races, RCR-prepared cars have earned one win, seven top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. At the same time, RCR cars have led 230 of the 2,699 laps contested this season (8.5 percent). All three RCR cars are in the top 10 in points (Jeff Burton first, Harvick fifth, Bowyer eighth).

RCR at Talladega … Richard Childress competed as a driver in Talladega’s inaugural race in 1969 and used his winnings from that race weekend to help start RCR. RCR boasts nine victories at the storied Alabama race track - all of them coming with Dale Earnhardt. Additionally, in 105 starts, RCR boasts four poles, 27 top-five, 44 top-10 finishes and just shy of $7 million in earnings.

Stars Fell On … Bowyer’s spotter, Jimmy Kitchens, is a native of the Yellowhammer state. Kitchens, a former ARCA and NASCAR Nationwide Series racer, originally hails from Hueytown, Ala., located approximately 70 miles west of Talladega. Kitchens is a four-time champion at Birmingham International Raceway and has over 200 feature wins throughout the southeast in a late model stock car. He raced ARCA from 1997-1999 and ran Nationwide cars from 1998-2005. His last Nationwide Series start came at Talladega in 2005 where he finished 15th. His career-best finish was seventh at Talladega in April 2002.

Chevy Antes up for Autism … Autism Speaks and Chevrolet recently announced a month-long promotion to help generate up to $1 million for the non-profit organization and create greater awareness of autism, a disorder that is now diagnosed in one in every 150 children. During April – Autism Awareness Month – people who go to the Autism Speaks website ( www.autismspeaks.org ), can click on the “Help Chevy Help Autism” icon and take a free virtual test drive of the 2008 North American Car of the Year – the all-new Chevy Malibu. Chevrolet has committed to a minimum contribution of $500,000, but every virtual test drive taken gets Chevrolet closer to its goal of donating up to $1 million to Autism Speaks to support its mission of increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research. Those who participate in the virtual test drive will be offered a free 30-day online trial of XM Satellite Radio. All three RCR Sprint Cup Series entries will carry Help Chevy Help Autism decals throughout the month of April in support of the program.

Double Duty at ‘Dega … In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the DIRECTV Chevrolet, Bowyer returns to the seat of the No. 2 Camping World Chevy Monte Carlo SS for this weekend’s Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Live coverage of the 10th of 35 races on the 2008 Nationwide Series schedule will be televised live on ABC Saturday, April 26 beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying will be televised live on SPEED Friday, April 25 beginning at 5 p.m. EDT. Bowyer is the current point leader in NASCAR’s junior division on the strength of one win, four top-five and seven top-10 finishes.

Catch the Action … Live coverage of the Aaron’s 499 from Talladega Superspeedway will take the green flag Sunday, April 27 at 12:30 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast worldwide on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the ninth event on the 36-race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be televised live on SPEED Saturday at 11 a.m. EDT. MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will provide qualifying updates live.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES
Last fall at Talladega, you finished 11th. The way it turned out, it looked like you could have either finished fifth or just as easily faded to 25th.
“We had a fast car. We’ve always run well at Talladega and Daytona. We played it pretty conservative last fall because up until that point, we were very unlucky down there. You have to position yourself to be able to go for the win but that’s a gamble, too. Sometimes you get shuffled out going for the win. You can be running second and go to pass the leader and if no one goes with you, you’re going back to 10th or 11th in a big hurry. There is a big risk-versus-reward factor at restrictor-plate races. Going to the front or getting shuffled out is the reward of winning the race or the downfall of trying to win.”

How much pressure is that? At any other race track you can try for the win and if it doesn’t work, you might lose one or two spots. At Talladega or Daytona, if the risk doesn’t pay off you can go from third to 23rd in a matter of a second or two.
“You can be running third and get a good run and think your going to go for the win on the last lap going down the back straightaway and end up 20th. That’s just the way those races are but that’s what makes them fun to watch.”

There was a lot of criticism after last year’s race about drivers just riding around until the end of the race. Was that fair?
“Well, I think that had a lot to do with the character of the tire and you can’t forget, last year was the first restrictor-plate race with the new generation car. Honestly, it was pretty uneventful running around for 400 miles, single-file up around the top of the race track. You do that all day and then you get down to the last 20 or so laps and have to get yourself back in the mindset to go racing.”