Bowyer, BB&T Team Click off Yet Another Top 10 
Finish at Gateway

Race/Date: Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 – July 19, 2008 - Location: Gateway International Raceway - Madison, Ill - Start Position: Fifth - Finish Position: Eighth
Points Position: First (170 points ahead)

MADISON, Ill. -- The No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS was plagued by handling woes over the last part of the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 but Clint Bowyer was still able to hang on for an eighth-place finish late Saturday night at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill.

The top-10 finish at the suburban St. Louis speedway, just across the Mississippi River, was the team’s 11th consecutive top-10 finish, and 18th overall, in 21 races this season. Bowyer now leads the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings by 170 over second-place Brad Keselowski, 201 over Carl Edwards, 266 over David Reutimann and 360 over David Ragan.

The BB&T Chevy was the 23rd car to make a qualifying attempt on Saturday afternoon. Bowyer lapped the 1.25-mile oval in 34.009 seconds (132.318 mph) which was the fifth-quickest run of the session.

A warm Midwest summer evening was the backdrop for the weekend’s 200-lap event. The field took the green flag just before 9 p.m. Central Daylight Time after a brief delay due to an electrical issue the track had with its lighting system. Once underway, Bowyer quickly called in that the handling of his BB&T Monte Carlo SS was a bit loose coming off the turns.

The first of the night’s six caution periods, a NASCAR-mandated competition caution, began on lap 22 and afforded crew chief Dan Deeringhoff and the pit crew to make needed adjustments. Bowyer was sixth in the running order at the time but, due to some teams electing to stay out and others taking right-side tires only, he was 14th when racing resumed on lap 26.

It was from there that Bowyer began his steady drive toward the front. He was 10th by lap 28 and back to sixth when the day’s second caution flag waved on lap 64. Fuel and tires only – no air pressure or chassis adjustments – was the call as Bowyer was pleased with the car’s handling. Quick work by the pit crew earned the six-time series race winner one spot when racing resumed on lap 68. Two more cautions over the next nearly 50 laps allowed teams the opportunity to pit under caution and the No. 2 was shown third on the scoring pylon for the lap 116-restart.

The fifth caution flag waved just two laps later, however, when Richard Childress Racing teammate Scott Wimmer made hard contact with the outside retaining wall on the front straightaway. The resulting debris forced NASCAR to display the red flag, halting the competition for nearly 25 minutes as crews cleaned up the race track.

It was immediately following the restart on lap 122 that Bowyer called in to say the car was extremely loose. He was third at the time but had dropped eight positions over the next seven laps. The Emporia, Kan., native drove with great determination and was able recapture three spots before the checkered flag waved.

Edwards took the victory, his second of the season, by nearly seven seconds ahead of second-place finisher Joey Logano. Jason Keller, Jason Leffler and Keselowski rounded out the top-five.

Wimmer was OK after a hard crash but his race was over and he finished 30th.

Next weekend the NASCAR Nationwide Series will set up camp at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind.

The Kroger 200 benefiting Riley Hospital for Children will be televised live on ESPN2 Saturday, July 27 beginning at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 22nd round of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship will be televised on ESPN2 the same day beginning at 5:00 p.m. EDT.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

“We had a good car right up until that last run when the handling just completely disappeared. It got so loose after the last caution that I was barely able to hang onto it and tapped the wall coming off of turn four at least once. We had a top-five BB&T Chevy tonight and the guys did a great job on pit road so I don’t know if something broke (in the suspension) or what happened. We’ll take another top-10 finish and get ready for a lot of action next week in Indy.”