Bowyer, Jack Daniel’s Chevy Swim Upstream in Bud Shootout
Race/Date: Budweiser Shootout
Location: Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, Fla.
Start Position: 21st
Finish Position: 14th

Daytona Beach, Fla. – As the lone Richard Childress Racing entry in a race dominated by teammates, Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, was a man on an island in Saturday night’s season-opening Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.

The Budweiser Shootout is a race comprised of drivers who earned a berth by winning a pole last season, or being a former, active Shootout winner who finished in the top 50 of the previous season’s NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. The event is made up of a 20-lap segment followed by a 10-minute break and a 50-lap sprint to the checkered flag.

Fifteen of the event’s 23 entries were comprised of drivers with team cars in the race and, with no drafting help on Daytona’s high banks, the third-year driver was left to fend for himself resulting in a 14th-place finish.

Bowyer’s 21st starting position was determined by random draw at Thursday night’s traditional Draw Party setting the field for the season’s first non-points event.

Friday’s practice sessions were filled with angst and controversy as two major incidents involving multiple drivers forced eight teams to resort to back-up cars for Saturday night’s 23-car feature.

Bowyer was content to ride inside the top 15 before the evening’s first yellow flag waved on lap 15 when Bill Elliott’s No. 21 Ford cut down a tire on the front straightaway and hit the front stretch retaining wall.

Following a lengthy clean-up, Bowyer steered his No. 07 Chevy onto pit road during the 10-minute break. He informed crew chief Gil Martin he was fighting a tight-handling condition during the opening sequence and needed an adjustment to the Jack Daniel’s Chevy’s chassis to help the car handle better on the bottom of the race track.

Martin called for fresh tires and a pair of chassis adjustments during the intermission to help ease the handling woes and after a short breather, the field was back to green for the 50-lap dash to the checkers.

Three laps later, the second night’s second caution flew when Jamie McMurray’s No. 26 machine was involved in an incident, also on the front straightaway.

Back under green, now in 10th, the Emporia, Kan., native was forced to drop to the back of the pack to get clean air to the nose of his car after reporting that the water temperature had spiked to a precarious range.

Bowyer hung near the back of the pack to cool his black and white Impala SS and was 18th in the running order when the next caution flag waved on lap 48.

Martin called Bowyer back to pit road the following lap for another set of fresh tires, including a pair of chassis adjustments before the green flag waved again with 18 laps to go.

Slight contact with Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 machine on lap 55 cost the Jack Daniel’s Chevy a handful of positions but grit and determination offered Bowyer the opportunity to catch back up with the leaders. The black and white No. 07 Chevrolet sliced through the field on the high-side of the legendary Daytona Beach race course and with just six laps remaining in the 175-mile February classic, Bowyer was sixth on the scoring pylon.

The fourth and final caution flag of the night flew on lap 64. With the front of the field composed mainly of teammates and no drafting help in sight, Mr. Jack’s Crew decided fresh tires could be the key to the Winner’s Circle.

After a quick trip back to the pits for tires, Bowyer was 11th when the green flag was displayed but with just three laps to go and no help to speak of, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standout had to do what he could on his own and ultimately faded to 14th in the final rundown.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race beating Tony Stewart, teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon along with Reed Sorenson. Four of the top-six finishers were Hendrick Motorsports teammates.

Next weekend, points racing officially kicks off the 2008 season with the 50th running of the “Great American Race.”

The Daytona 500 will be televised live on FOX Sunday, Feb. 17 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The first of 36 points-paying races on the 2008 schedule can be heard live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. The Gatorade Duel at Daytona 150-mile qualifying races will take the green flag Thursday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. EST and will be broadcast live on SPEED, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. The Twin 150s will then re-air on SPEED the same night at 9 p.m. EST.

> CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

“It’s pretty tough to beat all those guys by yourself. I thought if we got tires during that last caution, we’d be able to drive right up through them but it didn’t work out quite like that. We were pretty tight for most of the race and then the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Impala SS got hot so I had to drop to the back for a little while. But, it was still good to get back to racing, get some laps under our belt and get ready for the Daytona 500.”