Bowyer Extends Points Lead with Another Top-10 Finish

Race/Date: Meijer 300 presented by Dollar General – June 14, 2008 - Location: Kentucky Speedway – Sparta, Ky. - Start Position: 25th - Finish Position: Ninth
Points Position: First – Extended Points Lead

SPARTA, Ky. – Despite an ill-handling race car and no time on the Kentucky Speedway racing surface until qualifying, Clint Bowyer and the No. 2 Camping World racing team were able to secure a ninth-place finish in Saturday night’s Meijer 300 presented by Dollar General.

The top-10 finish was the team’s 13th in the first 16 races of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. Bowyer is now 170 points ahead of second-place Brad Keselowski, 175 ahead of David Reutimann in third, 225 forward of Carl Edwards in fourth and 243 points ahead of Kyle Busch in fifth.

Rain forced the cancellation of Friday’s two practice sessions which kept Bowyer at Michigan International Speedway, where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was competing. Stephen Leicht, who won last year’s Kentucky Speedway race, shook down the No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS during Saturday morning’s practice in preparation for Bowyer’s arrival before qualifying that evening.

The No. 2 Camping World Chevy was the third car to attempt a qualifying run on the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval. Bowyer’s fast lap of 31.552 seconds (171.146 mph) was 0.793 of a second off the pole speed and good enough for only the 25th starting spot.

A record estimated crowd of more than 73,000 waved small American flags as the 43-car field took the green flag at 8:49 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Emporia, Kan., native picked up a quick eight spots before debris on the track slowed the field on the first lap. Another caution on lap 12 found Bowyer running 15th for the lap 18 restart. The field settled into a rhythm and, though Bowyer called in to crew chief Dan Deeringhoff that his race car had “no grip”, the Camping World Chevrolet moved up the ladder.

Bowyer brought his race car to the attention of the Camping World over-the-wall crew for a green-flag stop on lap 58. Service completed, including chassis adjustments, and Bowyer was scored 17th in the running order as the field cycled through green flag pit stops.

The Camping World team ran steadily and moved up the scoring pylon – 12th by lap 75 and seventh by the race’s halfway point on lap 100. Deeringhoff & Company continued to make adjustments but Bowyer still found his race car to be loose and tight at different times. He raced between the seventh and 10th positions for the balance of the event before finally securing the ninth-place finish.

Joey Logano became the youngest winner in NASCAR Nationwide Series history with a victory in just his third series start. Scott Wimmer, Bowyer’s RCR teammate, was second, with Mike Wallace, Brad Keselowski and Bryan Clauson rounding out the top five.

The Milwaukee Mile is the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ next stop. Live coverage of the Camping World RV Rental 250 begins Saturday, June 21 at 8 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on ESPN2 and broadcast coast to coast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 17th race on the 2008 schedule will be televised live the same-day on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. EDT. MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will broadcast qualifying updates live.

• Clint Bowyer Quote

“We struggled with the handling of the Camping World Chevy all night but Dan (Deeringhoff, crew chief) and the guys never quit trying to make it better. It certainly wasn’t the night we had hoped for but it was a good points race for us so it wasn’t all bad. We have to keep working to get things better because there are a couple of them (competitors) out there who are coming on strong.”