Clint Bowyer - No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Impala SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet - Event/Date: Food City 500 – March 16, 2008
Venue: Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, Tenn.

• NOTES:

* This Week’s Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 192 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) stable. Built new for 2007, this is the same Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Bowyer raced eight times last season. Mr. Jack’s Crew unloaded this car in both races at Bristol last year (St. 18, Fn. 8 – St. 15, Fn. 3). Chassis No. 192 also saw action last spring at Martinsville (St. 21, Fn. 11) Phoenix (St. 12, Fn. 22), Darlington (St. 1, Fn. 9), twice at Dover (St. 15, Fn. 8 – St. 42, Fn. 12) and last July at New Hampshire (St. 20, Fn. 37). In eight races in 2007, this car recorded an 18th-place starting average and a 13.75 average finish. Over that same span, Bowyer recorded one pole, one top-five and four top-10 finishes. 

* Back on Track with Mr. Jack … After featuring a blue and white DIRECTV paint scheme last weekend in Atlanta, Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevrolet Impala SS returns to its traditional Jack Daniel’s look this weekend for the Food City 500.

* Bowyer in Bristol … In four NSCS starts on Bristol’s .533-mile high-banked oval, Bowyer has one top-five and two top-10 finishes. Over those same four races, the third-year driver owns a 21.8 starting average and a 19.5 average finish. Most recently, Bowyer started 15th and finished third in the Sharpie 500 last August. 

* Tennessee Tradition … Located just over 300 miles from Bristol, the Jack Daniel’s Distillery was officially registered with the U.S. government in 1866. The Jack Daniel Distillery, Lem Motlow, Proprietor, is the oldest registered distillery in the United States and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Jack Daniel’s is sold in over 135 countries, but every drop is distilled, matured and bottled at the Distillery in Lynchburg, (Pop. 361) Tenn., – located in dry Moore County. 

* Coming Home … Mr. Jack’s crew chief, Gil Martin, is a native of the Volunteer State. Martin, 47, is from Nashville, approximately 290 miles northwest of Bristol. 

* A Toast to the Team … In honor of Bowyer’s first career NSCS win last season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Mr. Jack’s Crew headed to the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg last December where they selected a barrel of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey. It may have taken awhile, because good things come to those who wait, but the barrel, along with the world-famous whiskey inside was delivered to the team this week at RCR in Welcome, N.C. Unlike Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey or Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel is not intermingled with whiskey from other barrels but comes from a single barrel hand-selected by Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Jimmy Bedford. 

* Atlanta Rewind … Bowyer notched his first top -10 finish of 2008 with a sixth-place finish in last weekend’s Kobalt Tools 500. At the same time, his seventh-place qualifying effort was a season-best as well. His third-place starting spot at California Speedway was the result of NASCAR’s decision to cancel qualifying, due to inclement weather, and set the starting grid according to final 2007 owner’s points. The Emporia, Kan., native led three times for 52 laps and moved up seven spots in points. 

* Climbing the Charts … Following last weekend’s sixth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bowyer climbed from 23rd to 16th in the NSCS championship point standings. The third-year Sprint Cup Series regular is now just 34 points behind Matt Kenseth in 12th, 42 behind Kurt Busch in 10th and a scant 55 markers outside of Brian Vickers’ 491-point tally who sits in ninth. 

* RCR at Bristol … In 102 Cup Series starts at Bristol, RCR boasts eight wins – seven with Dale Earnhardt and one with Kevin Harvick – three poles, 26 top-five and 46 top-10 finishes. Additionally, in 35 starts, RCR Nationwide Series teams have claimed five wins – four with Harvick and one with Jeff Green – 15 top-five and 20 top -10 finishes. 

* Keep on Rolling … Bowyer has been running at the end of every race dating back to Phoenix in November 2006, a streak of 41 races. The only other driver running at the end of more consecutive races is his teammate Kevin Harvick who owns a streak of 48 events without a did not finish (DNF). 

* Clint in Columbus … On behalf of Chevrolet, Bowyer will meet fans and sign autographs at the Columbus (Ohio) Auto Show on Wednesday, March 12 from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. The Columbus Auto show is located at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 North High Street, in Columbus. 

* Meet Me at the Experience … Bowyer will appear at the Jack Daniel’s Experience Sunday, March 16 from 11-11:15 a.m. The Jack Daniel’s Experience is a 42-foot tractor trailer filled with artifacts, state-of-the art video monitors, sound system and graphics to give race fans a taste of Lynchburg and the Distillery. The Jack Daniel’s Experience will be located in the Earhardt Campground outside Turn 1. The JDX will be open on Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., on Saturday from 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Autographs may be available on a limited basis due to time constraints. 

* Double Wide on the High Banks … In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, Bowyer will also race the No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in Saturday’s Sharpie Mini 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race. Flag-to-flag coverage will be televised live Saturday, March 15 on ABC beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The race will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. 

* Up to Speed … The Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway will be televised live on FOX Sunday, March 16 beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The race will be broadcast live on PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the fifth points-paying race on the 2008 Sprint Cup Series calendar will be televised live on SPEED Friday, March 14 beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

You finished third at Bristol last year and, for awhile it looked like it might have been your day.

“We’ve run well at Bristol and I like the race track. We’re getting close. We just have to learn a little more and get a little better and we’ll roll into Victory Lane.”

What’s your take on the new surface at Bristol?

“They’ve done a good job. I think everyone was really nervous about the track being repaved before the August race last year because it was so good before but they did their homework and did a very nice job.”

Does the new surface take out the physicality of the race?

”Oh no – from that aspect, it’s still the same old Bristol. In my opinion, they made it safer. I think the old track was starting to come up a little bit and it looked like there was going to be a problem. The new surface didn’t change the way you race the track. You can run two-wide but you still have your car turning and be good on the bottom to win there.”

There didn’t seem to be as much beating and banging last year as there had been in years past. Has the new surface changed that aspect?

“I think the new car has changed that more than the new surface. I don’t know that it was the track at all.”