Clint Bowyer - Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date:No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Impala SS/  LifeLock 400 – June 15, 2008
Venue: Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, Mich.

* This Week’s Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet at Michigan International Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 241 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for 2008, this is the same Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Impala SS Bowyer’s Gil Martin-led team unloaded earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, this car didn’t race that weekend after Bowyer made hard contact with the turn two wall with only minutes remaining in the weekend’s final practice session, forcing Mr. Jack’s Crew to roll out their back up car. 

* Michigan Minutes … Sunday will mark Bowyer’s fifth Sprint Cup Series race at MIS. The Emporia, Kan., driver hasn’t had the best of results having posted only two top-20 finishes at the expansive two-mile Brooklyn, Mich., oval. The two-time winner on NASCAR’s senior circuit struggled with handling-related issues in both races last season. He was on the fast-track to a top-three finish in August 2006 until the motor in the Jack Daniel’s Chevy let go with just three laps remaining. In his first Sprint Cup race at Michigan, Bowyer started ninth but was collected in an early race incident, leaving him 39th in the final rundown. In four starts, the 29-year-old driver has posted a respectable 14.5 starting average but also holds a disappointing 26.3 average finish at the south central Michigan circuit. 

* Back and Forth, Act 2 … Bowyer will travel back and forth between Michigan and Kentucky Speedway this weekend as he pursues the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship. On Friday, immediately following Sprint Cup qualifying, the six-time NNS winner will helicopter from MIS to Jackson, Mich., where he will board team owner Richard Childress’ Hawker 800 business jet, which can travel up to 440 knots (500 mph), bound for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). Upon arrival at CVG, Bowyer will board another helicopter and fly to Kentucky Speedway to practice the No. 2 Camping World Chevy Monte Carlo SS in preparation for Saturday night’s Meijer 300. If all goes according to plan, Bowyer will practice the Camping World Chevy Friday night before returning to Michigan that evening to practice the Jack Daniel’s Chevy twice the following day. On Saturday, he will head back to Kentucky in time to qualify and race the No. 2 machine in the Meijer 300 and return to Michigan that night. Stephen Leicht will be standing by in the event that weather delays Bowyer’s arrival in Kentucky. 

* Remembering Michael Ross … On Wednesday, June 11 Bowyer, along with Kasey Kahne, Dave Marcis, Randy Lajoie and NHRA racers Gary Scelzi and Jim Head will participate in a celebrity race of champions at the Ditzfield Transfer Inc. Summer Nationals at the Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo. In addition to the race of champions, the World of Outlaws sprint cars and Winged Outlaw Warriors 360 sprints are also part of the evening’s racing card. Proceeds from the event will go the benefit the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation. The Michael Ross Memorial Foundation was founded by Tony and Kathy Ross and their daughter Nicole, in memory of their son and brother, Michael Ross. Michael passed away in 1990 at the age of five from a very rare genetic disease known as Tay-Sachs disease. The proceeds of the foundation go to the Bay Cliff Health Camp in Big Bay, Mich. The camp was established in 1934 to promote the health, welfare, happiness, and development of the children of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. For more information about the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation and Bay Cliff Health Camp log on to www.michaelrossmemorialfoundation.com. 

* RCR at Michigan … RCR has earned two wins at Michigan International Speedway, both of them coming with Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt snagged the checkered flag in the Miller American 400 on June 28, 1987 and again in the Miller Genuine Draft 400 on June 24, 1990. Additionally, RCR boasts 15 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes with seven different drivers including Childress, a former driver in NASCAR’s top division, who recorded top 10s at Michigan in June 1978 and in August 1979. 

* Victory Junction NASCARnival Night … On Tuesday, June 10 the RCR NASCAR Sprint Cup Series over-the-wall crews made a special visit to the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C. While at the camp the crews ate dinner with the campers and demonstrated real time pit stops. Additionally, RCR’s over-the-wall teams took hot air balloon rides, played carnival games and made snow cones with the campers. All the campers this week suffer from Chron’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation or swelling of the digestive tract. 

* Poc-Oh-No … Last weekend at Pocono, Bowyer started 35th and was credited with a 39th-place finish. After working his way up to as high as ninth but falling back to 32nd as different pit strategies played out, Bowyer’s Jack Daniel’s Chevy got away from him exiting turn three and made hard contact with the inside retaining wall. Following an extended stay in the garage, he finished the race but fell from eighth to 11th in points.

· Keep on Rolling … Bowyer has been running at the end of every race dating back to Phoenix in November 2006, a streak of 51 races. The only other driver running at the end of more consecutive races is Harvick who owns a streak of 58 events without a DNF (did not finish).

* Happy Birthday Dustin … Dustin Stanley, shock specialist and rear-tire carrier on Mr. Jack’s Crew will celebrate his 30th birthday on Saturday, June 14. Stanley is a native of Lewisville, N.C. and has been with RCR since December 2004. 

* Catching Up With Clint … Bowyer will meet with the gathered press outside the No. 07 transporter inside the Sprint Cup Series garage area Saturday, June 14 at 11:30 a.m.

* Experience is Essential … Bowyer will appear at the Jack Daniel’s Experience Sunday, June 15 at 11 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 track’s display area outside the front straightaway, across from the start/finish line, and be open on Friday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., on Saturday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and on Sunday from 7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Autographs may be available on a first come first serve basis and will be limited in number due to time constraints.

* Nationwide News … Following final Sprint Cup Series practice at MIS, Bowyer head for Kentucky Speedway for the Meijer 300. The 16th of 35 races on the 2008 Nationwide Series schedule will be televised live on ESPN2 Saturday, June 14 at beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will also be broadcast from coast to coast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying will be televised live on ESPN2 the same day at 5 p.m. EDT. MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio carry qualifying updates live. 

* Catch the Cup Race … The Lifelock 400 from Michigan International Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, June 15 at 2 p.m. The race will be televised live on TNT beginning at 12:30 p.m. EDT and broadcast on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 15th stop on the 2008 schedule will be telecast live on SPEED Friday, June 10 at 3 p.m. EDT. MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will provide live qualifying updates.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

Michigan hasn’t been exactly been kind to you. This has to be a race you circle on the calendar and say “Boys, we have to run better at Michigan.”

“We’ve had a lot of things go wrong at Michigan, some of them have been our fault and some of them haven’t. We blew up running third with two laps to go in ’06 so I think Michigan owes us a little help right there. Hopefully, she’ll be good to us this year.”

Everybody talks about how many grooves there are at Michigan. How do you go about figuring out where you’re going to run?

“I think you rely on your roots. That’s something dirt racing helped me out a lot with. You have to constantly search for a line. If your car isn’t working down on the bottom you have to move up. You need to move to the middle, move to the top and watch other cars. Your spotter can help you out a bunch at Michigan. If the leader is running two-tenths of a second faster than the field up on the top, you better be seeking out the top and vice versa. It’s a team effort. Everyone can help out at Michigan. Obviously, the driver has the steering wheel but a spotter can play a big role by offering good advice.”

How long does it take you to decide if one groove is better than the others?

“It just depends. The top can be kind of finicky. You have to run the top groove the right way. If you get in too hard and over-charge the corner, the car won’t rotate. If you get in too easy and pick up the throttle too early, you’ll be tight off the corner and have to lift on exit which is a major no-no. You have to give the top a lap or two to try and fine-tune the line and make sure you’re running it correctly. It all depends on the balance of the car. If you’re really, really loose, you’re probably going to be down on the white line around the bottom to give yourself a little bit of an out if something happens.”