BOWYER, JACK DANIEL’S CHEVY TALLY TOP-15 AT TRACK “TOO TOUGH TOO TAME”

Race/Date: Dodge Challenger 500 – May 10, 2008 - Location: Darlington Raceway – Darlington, S.C. - Start Position: 38th - Finish Position: 15th - Points Position: Fifth – Lost one spot

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Clint Bowyer and the Jack Daniel’s Racing team turned in a hard-fought 15th-place finish in Saturday night’s Dodge Challenger 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at historic Darlington Raceway.

Despite starting deep in the field and losing a lap twice, Bowyer and Mr. Jack’s Crew kept their collective heads in the game, fine-tuned their black and white Chevy Impala SS with each pit stop and came away with a respectable showing.

While the team fell one spot, from fourth to fifth, in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, Bowyer sits just 10 markers out of fourth and only 66 behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. in third.

The two-time Sprint Cup winner and his Gil Martin-led crew struggled mightily throughout the weekend to find the handle on Darlington’s newly resurfaced 1.366-mile oval.

While their Mother’s Day weekend qualifying and practice sessions didn’t come up smelling like roses, Bowyer, Martin and company were able to work out the bugs, to a great extent, when the green flag flew Saturday night.

Although Bowyer lost a lap to the leaders during the first 50 circuits, he stayed focused and positioned himself to get back on the lead lap just past the event’s one-third mark.

The Emporia, Kan., driver raced in and around the top 20 for the next 60 laps before bad timing on pit road cost the team another lap. As Michael Waltrip was exiting his pit stall during green-flag stops, Bowyer, who was pitting directly in front of Waltrip, was attempting to get into his. As a result, the 2007 championship contender missed his pit stall costing the team precious time.

The strange mishap cost Bowyer another lap but, once again, he stayed focused and kept himself in position to get back on the lead lap. The caution flag waved with 117 laps remaining and as the first car one lap down, he was able to pass the pace car and re-establish his footing on the lead lap.

As the final laps clicked off, Bowyer struggled with a loose-handling condition and see-sawed from eighth to 17th and back to 15th when the checkered flag waved.

Kyle Busch won his third race of the season beating Carl Edwards to the checkers by just over three seconds. Jeff Gordon was third, Earnhardt Jr. was fourth and David Ragan finished fifth.

Bowyer’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick finished 10th and 39th, respectively. Harvick slapped the back stretch wall and was forced to spend 100 laps in the garage area while his team made repairs.

Mr. Jack’s Crew will be the featured act this Thursday night when the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge takes center stage at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. The annual pit crew showcase will be televised on SPEED Thursday, May 15 at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Next weekend, Bowyer and the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet will see action at Lowe’s Motor Speedway outside Charlotte in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race XXIV. Live coverage from the annual All-Star extravaganza will be televised on SPEED Saturday, May 17 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT. The second and final non-points event of the 2008 season will be broadcast live from coast to coast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Bowyer secured his place in the All-Star race by virtue of his victory last September at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He followed that up with his second career victory two weeks ago at Richmond International Raceway.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

"We didn't have the best night but it could have been a lot worse. Everyone on the Jack Daniel's Chevrolet kept their heads in the game and we came out of here with a halfway decent finish. Gil and all the boys kept working on it during every stop and we ended up OK. We got a lap down a couple of times but we stayed after it and finished on the lead lap. We'll take that and go on to Charlotte."