Streak Ends for No. 2 Camping World Team but Bowyer 
Widens Gap to Second

Race/Date: Kroger 200 – July 26, 2008 - Location: O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis
Start Position: 10th - Finish Position: 18th - Points Position: First (173 points ahead)

INDIANAPOLIS -- The 11-race streak of top-10 finishes that Clint Bowyer and the No. 2 Camping World Racing team earned over the past three months came to an end Saturday night at O’Reilly Raceway Park but the 18th-place finish was still good enough to increase their lead in the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings.

Bowyer & Co. are now 173 points ahead of second-place Brad Keselowski with 13 races remaining on the 35-race schedule. Carl Edwards is third (-180), David Reutimann is fourth (-290) and David Ragan is fifth (-331). 

The No. 2 BB&T Chevy was the 28th car Saturday afternoon to make a qualifying attempt on the tight .686-mile oval in suburban Indianapolis. Bowyer’s quick lap of 23.045 seconds (107.164 mph) was the 10th-quickest run of the session and good for the outside of the fifth row for the start later that evening.

The green flag waved over the field of 43 at 8:17 Eastern Daylight Time in front of an estimated crowd of 35,000 at what fans and competitors alike feel is one of the more exciting races of the season. Bowyer had battled a loose handling race car throughout practice and qualifying and that’s what he had to deal with in the beginning of the race. The Emporia, Kan., native was 14th when the first of seven caution flags waved on lap 22 but the decision was made by crew chief Dan Deeringhoff not to pit so early in the 200-lap event.

The handling of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS gradually tightened up over the next 75 laps of green-flag racing with Bowyer shown in the ninth position when the third caution period slowed the field on lap 101. The BB&T crew made quick work of its stop and sent the driver back to the racing surface having picked up one position on pit road.

The slight air pressure adjustment to the right-front tire seemed to help a bit as Bowyer was able to maintain position into the final 40-lap segment of the race. Two cautions, on laps 163 and 171, slowed the action and allowed the opportunity for Bowyer to bring the No. 2 Chevy down pit road for service. Radio communication between Deeringhoff and Bowyer, however, showed that the decision was made to maintain the pre-race plan of staying on the racing surface at the end to keep track position.

Unfortunately, the plan didn’t pay off when, on the lap 171 caution, many of the cars behind the BB&T Chevrolet came down pit road for fresh tires. When racing resumed on lap 174, new tires were key and Bowyer slipped a number of spots before the checkered flag finally waved though he did finish one position ahead of Keselowski.

Kyle Busch earned his sixth series victory of the season 1.111 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Colin Braun. Mike Bliss, Bowyer’s RCR teammate Scott Wimmer, and Josh Wise rounded out the top-five finishers.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series heads north of the border for its second annual visit to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course outside downtown Montreal.

The NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge will be televised live on ESPN2 Saturday, Aug. 2 beginning at 3:00 p.m. EDT. The race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 23rd round of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship will be televised on ESPN2 the same day beginning at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

“We had decided to stay out during that one caution when just about everybody else behind me came in. I don’t know that we had anything for the 18 (Busch), nobody did, but the decision to stay out put us in a position where we just didn’t have any tires left at the end and most of the cars behind us did. I hate that our top-10 streak is over but we did pick up a few points on second place and we’ll go to Montreal ready to start another streak.”