Race/Date: Coca-Cola 600 – May 25, 2008 - Location: Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C.- Start Position: 39th - Finish Position: 25th - 
Points Position: Fifth – Maintained Position

CONCORD, N.C. – Clint Bowyer fell victim to overheating issues in the early goings of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, forcing the driver of the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet to pit under green-flag conditions, just 18 laps in to the longest race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule.

Bowyer’s black and white No. 07 Chevy picked up debris that had blown on to the race track blocking the front grill openings and causing the water and oil temperatures to spike. The untimely trip to pit lane ultimately cost him two laps that, despite a yeoman’s effort, he was unable to reclaim.

Still, the Emporia, Kan., driver held on to fifth in the Sprint Cup Series point standings where he holds a 40-point advantage over Carl Edwards in sixth and a 61-point margin over Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick in seventh. Meanwhile, Bowyer is just 18 points behind Denny Hamlin in fourth.

After struggling in last weekend’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star race and during Thursday evening’s qualifying session, the Jack Daniel’s Chevy showed marked improvements when practice started on Saturday afternoon.

By the time the green flag dropped late Sunday afternoon, Bowyer was able to pass cars and was recording lap times competitive with that of the leaders. Before the ill-fated trip to pit lane, the two-time Sprint Cup Series winner was up to 34th.

Despite racing two laps down for the rest of the night, the Jack Daniel’s Chevy was one of the fastest cars on the mile-and-a-half suburban Charlotte oval throughout the 600-mile event.

By the way of hard work, attrition and perseverance, Bowyer was able to gain moderate ground in the running order and move from as deep as 43rd up to 25th when the checkered flag waved.

Kasey Kahne won for the second weekend in a row at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, beating Greg Biffle by just over 10 seconds. Points leader Kyle Busch was third. Jeff Gordon was fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth.

Bowyer’s RCR teammates Jeff Burton and Harvick finished sixth and 14th, respectively.

Next weekend, NASCAR’s senior circuit heads north up the eastern seaboard for the first of two stops on the 2008 schedule at Dover International Speedway. Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevy Impala SS will feature a blue and white DIRECTV paint scheme at the “Monster Mile.”

Flag-to-flag coverage of the Best Buy 400 benefitting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks will take the green flag Sunday, June 1 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 13th points-paying race on the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be telecast live on SPEED Friday, May 30 beginning at 3 p.m. EDT.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

“We picked up some trash on the nose of the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, had to pit under green and lost two laps. In all honesty, going two laps down early is almost as bad as wrecking. All things considered, 25th isn’t too bad. Gil (crew chief Gil Martin) and all the guys did a great job getting the car to where I could drive it. We struggled during the All-Star race and really didn’t have a good handle on the car for most of this weekend. But, when the green flag dropped, the Jack Daniel’s Chevy was easily a top-10 car. If we wouldn’t have had that bad luck, I feel like we could have raced for the win. We’re going to Dover next weekend and that’s a track I really enjoy. We’re taking a good car so this team is looking to rebound from a tough couple of weeks.”