Clint Bowyer Event Preview 

No. 2 RVs.com/Camping World Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet - Event/Date: Kroger 200 benefiting Riley Hospital for Children – July 26, 2008 - Venue: O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis

NOTES:

* This Week’s RVs.com/Camping World Chevrolet at O’Reilly Raceway Park … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 058 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series stable. This is the same No. 2 Chevy Bowyer raced to a third-place finish last month at The Milwaukee Mile. Formerly a No. 21 machine, Kevin Harvick was four for five with this Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in 2006, earning victories at Martinsville Speedway (July 22), O’Reilly Raceway Park (Aug. 5), Richmond International Raceway (Sept. 8) and Memphis Motorsports Park (Oct. 29) before finishing second at Phoenix International Raceway in November of the same year. Former RCR driver Tim McCreadie raced this car four times last season (Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Richmond and Memphis) while Timothy Peters raced it once (Phoenix). 

* Blue and Gold at ORP … After sporting its traditional burgundy and gold BB&T colors last weekend at Gateway International Raceway, Bowyer’s No. 2 Chevy will showcase a RVs.com/Camping World paint scheme this weekend in Indianapolis. 

* ORP Overall … In three Nationwide Series starts at ORP’s .686-mile oval, Bowyer has a runner-up finish to call a career-best. He has recorded a strong 8.3 starting average but an early race incident in his last appearance at ORP leaves him with a 19.7 finishing average. Still, over those three starts, the 29-year-old driver has led 40 laps. 

* A Look Back At Last Week … Bowyer finished eighth last week at Gateway International Raceway and recorded his 11th consecutive top-10 finish and 18th overall in 21 races this season. Despite the top-10 effort, the 29-year-old driver lost 13 points to second-place Brad Keselowski after the sophomore driver finished fourth behind Jason Keller, Joey Lagano and eventual winner Carl Edwards. Bowyer is currently 170 points ahead of Keselowski in the race for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship. 

• Bowyer in the Loop …

o Average Running Position … According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Bowyer leads the Average Running Position category with an 8.171 ARP. The ARP is derived from taking the sum of a driver’s position on each lap and dividing it by the number of laps run in each race.

o Laps in the Top 15 … Meanwhile, the Nationwide Series point leader has spent 3,524 of the 3,849 laps completed this season (91.6 percent) running in the top 15.

o Driver Rating … Bowyer also enjoys a 106.5 Driver Rating – second only to Kyle Busch (113.7). 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.

o Laps Led … Bowyer has led 341 laps in Nationwide Series competition this season and trails only Busch and two-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart in that category.

* After the First 21 … Over the season’s first 21 Nationwide Series races, Bowyer has posted one win, eight top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. At the same time, the Emporia, Kan., native has logged an impressive 7.4 starting average to go along with his 8.1 finishing average. He has completed 3,823 of the 3,849 laps run this season (99.32 percent) and led a total of 341 laps. 

* RCR Nationwide Notes at Indy … RCR has won two Nationwide Series races at ORP – both with Harvick (2001 and 2006). In 18 NNS starts in Indianapolis, RCR has earned five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. RCR-prepared entries have also led 190 laps at the track just northwest of the Circle City. 

* Back and Forth from the Big Track … In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the RVs.com/Camping World Chevy Saturday night, Bowyer will race the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Impala SS in Sunday’s 15th running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Live television coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ annual stop at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, July 27 at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 1 p.m. EDT and broadcast worldwide on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 20th points-paying race on the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be televised live on ESPN2 Saturday, July 26 at 10 a.m. EDT. The IMS Radio Network and Sirius Satellite Radio will broadcast qualifying live. 

* Saturday Night Thunder … Live television coverage of the Kroger 200 benefiting Riley Hospital for Children will take the green flag Saturday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN. The Motor Racing Network and SIRIUS Satellite Radio will also broadcast the race live from coast to coast. Qualifying for the 22nd round of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship will be televised on ESPN2 the same day beginning at 4:30 p.m. EDT.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

Does going over to ORP and racing on Saturday night have a grass roots feel to it?

“The results might not show it but we’ve always run well at ORP. That’s one race that I circle on the calendar and know we’ll have a good car and a great shot to win. ORP is just a fun, fun race track. My crew chief, Dan Deeringhoff, and everybody who works on our Camping World Chevrolets have been doing such a good job and our short track program at RCR has always been right there. There’s just a certain type of energy in the air that you only get at a short-track race on a Saturday night. It’s a breath of fresh air for me. I’ve definitely got my eye on this race as one we can win.

How would you describe your approach to racing at ORP?

”It’s a very unique race track in that sense. You run on the top of the track. Everywhere else we go, you run on the bottom. It’s a tight quarters, fun race track. You have to tiptoe around all night long. It’s close, door-to-door racing. You’re going to get into somebody as the night goes on. You can run well but circumstances can bite you just as easily. Two cars can get together in front of you, block the track and all of a sudden there’s nowhere to go. “

With the activities over at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there’s always a huge crowd at ORP. If you’re a Nationwide Series regular, it’s pretty hard to miss that this is a big event.

“There’s so much going on in the Sprint Cup Series garage that you almost forget everybody is there for a race. It feels different at ORP. It feels good. The fans are close. The racing is second to none and it’s a place where I think we can win. What’s not to look forward to? The whole weekend in Indy is so big and ORP has such a big fan following that it’s always a lot of fun to get away from the big race track and go over there. It’s definitely fun to go over there and watch all the races.”