FUEL MILEAGE, PIT STRATEGY CONTRIBUTE TO TOP SIX FOR BOWYER, JACK DANIEL’S CHEVROLET AT POCONO

Race/Date: Sunoco American Red Cross 500 – August 3, 2008 - Location: Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, Pa. - Start Position: 30th - Finish Position: Sixth
Points Position: 12th (Maintained Position)

LONG POND, Pa. – Sound pit strategy, patience and precise fuel mileage calculation were the three key components in Clint Bowyer’s top-six finish in Sunday’s Sunoco American Red Cross 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Despite struggling with poor track position and a loose-handling Jack Daniel’s Chevy Impala SS over the first half of the event, Bowyer stayed focused while his Gil Martin-led team crafted a plan to get him to the front.

As several of the front-runners had to pit for fuel in the late stages, Bowyer picked up position after position and ultimately snapped a two-race skid of finishes of 19th or worse. It was also the Emporia, Kan., native’s 10th top-10 finish in 21 races this season.

The strong result allowed Bowyer to maintain the 12th spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point standings. He is now 11 points ahead of Matt Kenseth’s 13th-place total. Meanwhile, he sits just eight points behind RCR teammate Kevin Harvick in 11th, 35 behind Denny Hamlin in 10th and 57 back from Tony Stewart in ninth.

The top 12 in points following the Sept. 6 Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway are locked into the Chase for the Sprint Cup – NASCAR’s 10-race playoff format that will determine the 2008 champion.

The two-time Sprint Cup Series winner slipped in turn three during his qualifying run and ended up with a starting spot outside the 15th row for the second and final race on the 2008 schedule at Pocono.

Rain washed out Saturday’s twin practice sessions, affording Bowyer the opportunity to get a head start on his trip to Montreal where the NASCAR Nationwide Series raced. Inclement weather was a major player in Canada as well and for the first time in history, a NASCAR-sanctioned points-paying race was run on grooved rain tires.

Despite having not seen the race track before Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session, Bowyer stayed on course, for the most part, and secured a ninth-place finish in the series’ second road course race of the season. NASCAR ultimately called the race 26 laps short of the scheduled distance due to heavy rain and poor visibility.

Back in Pocono for a 2 p.m. start on Sunday afternoon, Bowyer started 30th but picked up three spots before he completed the first lap when NASCAR threw the first yellow flag of the day. Back under green on lap four, he picked up one more spot but plummeted to 37th over the next three laps while he nursed his black and white No. 07 machine around the race track with a cut right-rear tire.

Fortunately, another quick caution flew on lap seven allowing Bowyer to hit pit road and pick up a fresh set of Goodyears.

Over the opening third of the race, Bowyer struggled with handling issues but still managed to gain ground and move into the top 25 by lap 70. He continued to run between 23rd and 25th during the next 50 circuits but now the handling was starting to come in on the Jack Daniel’s Chevy, especially in the latter stages of the green-flag run.

Pit strategy began to take shape during the next 50-plus laps. With spotty inclement weather on the horizon just past halfway, Martin new if everything played out just right he would only need to call his driver to pit road twice more to stay within the team’s pre-determined fuel window.

NASCAR waved the yellow flag 73 laps from the checked flag when a brief shower settled over the two-and-a-half mile speedway. Martin summoned Bowyer to the pits on lap 128 for fresh tires and fuel while the great majority of the front runners stayed on the track hoping the rain would stay for good, forcing NASCAR to call the event short of the scheduled 200-lap distance.

Much as Martin thought, the rain was brief and after a 41-minute red flag, NASCAR ordered the drivers to re-fire the engines and the race was back underway at 5:34 p.m. local time.

Bowyer began a steady ascent up the leaderboard as the race wound down and all those who stayed on the race track, hoping the rain would stay for good, had to pit.

By lap 156, the Jack Daniel’s Chevy was inside the top 20 and in the top 10 just eight circuits later. Martin called his driver to pit road for the final time on lap 166 and after a full load of fuel and a final fresh set of skins, Bowyer was locked and loaded to finish the day without having to pit again.

The final 30 laps played out much like the previous 30 did. As all the teams who didn’t pit during the caution for rain had to pit again, Bowyer continued his steady march up the scoring pylon. He was back inside the top 10 with 13 laps to go and looked to have a firm handle on finishing seventh but, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of gas on the last lap, Bowyer picked up one more position and finished sixth.

Carl Edwards won the race, beating Stewart to the checkered flag by nearly four seconds. Jimmie Johnson was third, Harvick was fourth and David Ragan rounded out the top five.

Jeff Burton, driver of RCR’s No. 31 AT&T Team USA Chevy, was 21st in the final rundown.

Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to upstate New York for the division’s second and final road course event of the 2008 season.

The Centurion Boats at the Glen from Watkins Glen International will take the green flag Sunday, August 10 at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 1 p.m. EDT and broadcast from coast-to-coast on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 22nd points-paying race on the 36-race Sprint Cup Series tour will be televised live on ESPN2 Friday, August 8 at 3 p.m. EDT.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

“It was kind of weird. Track position with this car is everything. We had a flat right-rear tire at the beginning and I didn’t qualify very good so that didn’t help anything. We started in the back but once we got toward the front, it was easier to get going. We picked up a second and you feel like Superman in the car. The Jack Daniel’s Chevy was good. We have to work on our qualifying program and still have some work to do on our big track program. You have to take these good finishes when you can. Obviously, my teammate Kevin Harvick and I are so close in points that I hated to give up any points but I’m looking forward to the road course and Michigan the week after. You just have to do whatever you can to get some track position. Mother Nature kinda played a part in the race today. Gil (crew chief Gil Martin) made a good call to pit when it rained.

“There are some good tracks for us coming up. We are excited about it. At least we have a shot at this thing and that is all we can ask for. There is a lot of pressure on everybody. There are still five races to go, a lot can happen. We just have to be smart and not get too excited but it is time to get going.”