BOWYER BB&T CHEVY, BRING HOME A SOLID TOP-SIX FINISH AT CHARLOTTE

Race/Date: CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 – May 24, 2008 - Location: Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C. - Start Position: 15th - Finish Position: Sixth
Points Position: First (Maintained Position)

CONCORD, N.C. – Clint Bowyer and the No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet team may not have had the car to win the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway but a strong sixth-place showing allowed him to maintain the lead in the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings.

The sixth-place effort was Bowyer and company’s 10th top-10 performance of the 2008 season.

In qualifying Saturday afternoon, the NASCAR Nationwide Series veteran toured the Charlotte oval in 30.629 seconds (176.223 mph), locking in the 15th starting spot for the 200-lap event.

Bowyer and company took the green flag just after 7:30 p.m. local time under clear skies. The first of the day’s 12 cautions came out on the third lap for an incident in turn two with Bowyer having gained three spots. Green-flag racing resumed on lap eight and the No. 2 BB&T Chevy maintained position with Bowyer calling over the radio that the car’s handling was too tight exiting the turns.

The second caution flag flew on lap 26 and the Bowyer ducked down pit lane for service by his Dan Deeringhoff-led crew. Fresh Goodyear rubber, fuel and a chassis adjustment were in order and the 28-year-old driver was 12th on the lap-30 restart.

The six-time Nationwide Series race winner began to maneuver his way up the scoring pylon until slight contact with David Reutimann on lap 33 caused his No. 2 machine to return to its tight-handling condition.

The day’s third caution waved on lap 60 allowing Deeringhoff a chance to assess and fix the right-front fender damage on the BB&T Chevy and get another fresh set of Goodyear tires. Bowyer restarted the 300-mile event in the 13th spot.

Just past the halfway point, Bowyer’s burgundy and gold machine began a steady climb up the leaderboard and cracked the top eight on lap 134.

Another caution flag flew on lap 161 and Deeringhoff called his championship contending driver to pit road for fuel and a chassis adjustment. The gas and go stop gave Bowyer valuable track position and he restarted the race fifth.

Tight-handling conditions returned to the No. 2 machine but Bowyer was able to hang on and cross the finish line sixth.

Kyle Busch won his fourth NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the season. Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers rounded out the top five.

Bowyer’s Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton crossed the stripe eighth.

Next weekend, the NASCAR Nationwide Series heads north up the eastern seaboard as NASCAR’s No. 2 circuit visits the “Monster Mile” for the first of two stops on the 2008 schedule.

Live coverage of the Helluva Good 200 from Dover International Speedway will take the green flag Saturday, May 31 at 2:30 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on ESPN2 and broadcast from coast to coast on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for round 14 of the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship will be televised live on ESPN2 the same day at 10:30 a.m. EDT. MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will broadcast qualifying updates live.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

“We fought tight most of the race but this was a good points day for the No. 2 BB&T team. Dan (crew chief Dan Deeringhoff) made the right call at the end for gas only and we were able to pick up a couple spots before it was all over.”