Clint Bowyer - No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet - Event/Date: Federated Auto Parts 300 presented by Dollar General – June 7, 2008 - Venue: Nashville Superspeedway – Lebanon, Tenn.

• NOTES:

* This Week’s BB&T Chevrolet at Nashville Superspeedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 079 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series stable. Built new for 2008, this is the same No. 2 Chevrolet Bowyer raced to a second-place finish earlier this year in the Nationwide Series’ last trip to Nashville. Bowyer also raced this car to a third-place finish in Las Vegas and a runner-up effort last month at Darlington. In three starts this season, this BB&T Chevy has recorded a pair of second-place showings to go along with a third-place finish. * In the Loop at Nashville …

o In a Nutshell … In eight starts at Nashville Superspeedway, Bowyer has an impressive 5.8 starting average and an even more impressive 2.7 finishing average. The Emporia, Kan., driver has one win, four consecutive runner-up efforts, and a third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishes. Over that same span, he has completed all 1,800 laps contested and has yet to finish worse than fifth. His lone start outside the top five was his second career start for RCR when he went on to finish fourth.

o Serious Stats … According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Bowyer leads the way at Nashville in the Average Running Position Category. His average position at the suburban Nashville race course is 3.628. That statistic is derived from taking the sum of his position on each lap divided by the number of laps run in each race. The six-time NNS winner also leads the Driver Rating Category with an incredible rating of 130.4. 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. Bowyer has also spent 1,308 of the 1,800 laps contested over his seven starts running in the top 15 and paced the field for 361 laps.

* Back Where it all Started … Nashville Superspeedway is the site of Bowyer’s first ARCA RE/MAX Series start. With a skeleton crew and a car fielded by fellow Kansan Scott Traylor, Bowyer started seventh, led 47 laps and finished second by a scant 1.58 seconds to Mario Gosselin on August 9, 2003. As fate would have it, RCR team owner Richard Childress was watching the race on SPEED from his motorcoach at Watkins Glen and ultimately inked Bowyer to a contract in November of the same year.

* RCR at Nashville … In 29 previous Nationwide Series starts at Nashville Superspeedway, RCR has posted three wins (Scott Wimmer, March 2008; Kevin Harvick, April 2006; and Bowyer, June 2005), two poles (Johnny Sauter, June 2003; and Harvick, April 2001), 15 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. RCR cars have also led 681 laps at the 1.33-mile concrete oval. 

* From the Driver’s Seat to the Owner’s Suite … In addition to driving his own dirt late model in Wednesday night’s Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway, Bowyer will wear the car owner’s hat as he field’s a second car out of the Clint Bowyer Racing stable for defending Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson. 

* Gearing Up for the Long Haul … Over the next three weeks, Bowyer will compete in eight events at eight different race tracks in eight states in four different types of cars. Beginning with Wednesday night at Eldora, Bowyer will pilot his Jack Daniel’s-sponsored dirt late model followed by an appearance in the No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet Monte Carlo at Nashville Superspeedway for Saturday’s Nationwide Series race. On Sunday, he’ll race the Jack Daniel’s Chevy Impala SS at Pocono before heading to Sedalia, Mo., for next Wednesday’s Summer Nationals benefiting the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation where he’ll return to his roots and wheel a dirt modified car. Next weekend, the 29-year old driver will commute between Michigan International Speedway and Kentucky Speedway for the second of three consecutive non-companion Nationwide/Sprint Cup weekends. The week after that, Bowyer will go back and forth between Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., and The Milwaukee Mile – a vast 4,312-mile roundtrip journey. 

* 800 Miles and Then Some … As he pursues the NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship, Bowyer will commute 3,220 miles between Pocono Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., where NASCAR’s junior division competes this weekend. The 29-year-old driver will depart Pocono via helicopter immediately following qualifying on Friday afternoon, and head for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport before boarding teammate Kevin Harvick’s Lear 31jet bound for Symrna (Tenn.) Airport. If all goes according to plan, Bowyer will practice the BB&T Chevy Friday night before returning to Pocono that evening to practice the Jack Daniel’s Chevy twice the following day. On Saturday, he will head back to Nashville in time to qualify and race the No. 2 machine for Federated Auto Parts 300 and return to Pocono that night. Stephen Leicht will be standing by in the event that weather delays Bowyer’s arrival in Nashville. 

* Cup Commute … Following his duties behind the wheel of the No. 2 BB&T Chevy, Bowyer will return to Pocono, Pa., for Sunday’s Pocono 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Flag-to-flag coverage of the first of the two stops for NASCAR’s premier division at Pocono Raceway will take the green flag Sunday, June 8 beginning at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on TNT and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 14th points-paying race on the Sprint Cup Series schedule will be telecast live on SPEED Friday, June 6 beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT. 

* Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Federated Auto Parts 300 presented by Dollar General will take the green flag Saturday, June 7 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on ESPN2 and broadcast on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 15th race on the 2008 Nationwide Series calendar is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN2 the same day at 3 p.m. EDT.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

What’s the key to winning the Nationwide Series championship?

“You can’t have catastrophic days. The BB&T team has raced smart. Some of those guys have had faster cars but we’ve been able to beat them by racing smarter. Right now, we need to protect what we have and push forward in the Nationwide Series so we’re where we need to be when we get to Homestead.”

Even though we’re not quite halfway through the season, are you still excited to be leading the points?

“There’s a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum associated with being the points leader no matter what time of the year it is. We’ve still got to pick up our program and get better. We’re working hard to try and fix some areas that need improvement. We’re just trying to keep up with all the horsepower some of the other manufacturers have but we’ve had that advantage the last couple of years so the shoe is on the other foot right now. We’ve just got to figure out some things, pick our program up in a couple of areas and we’ll be in good shape.”