Bowyer, DIRECTV Chevy Hold on for Top 20 
in Auto Club 500

Race/Date: Auto Club 500 - Location: Auto Club Speedway of Southern California– Fontana, Calif. - Start Position: Third - Finish Position: 19th - Points Position: 19th - Gained four positions

Fontana, Calif. – Loose was the word of the day for Clint Bowyer and his DIRECTV racing team in Monday’s rain-delayed Auto Club 500 at the newly renamed Auto Club Speedway of Southern California. Despite a yeoman’s effort on pit road, in terms of adjustments, throughout the 500-mile, nearly 24-hour event, veteran crew chief Gil Martin couldn’t find a comfort zone for his driver.

Still, in the face of adversity, Bowyer hung tough for a 19th-place showing and moved up four spots, from 23rd to 19th, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point standings.

The ominous skies settled over the two-mile D-shaped oval like a shroud on Friday morning and plagued the second stop of the season until Monday morning. After rain washed out qualifying Friday afternoon, NASCAR set the field, by rule, according to last season’s final car owner point standings.

Rain delayed Sunday’s scheduled 1 p.m. Pacific start time by two hours and the event was red- flagged for over an hour 22 laps in as safety workers attempted to curtail moisture from seeping through the track.

Over the opening laps, Bowyer complained of a loose-handling condition with the DIRECTV Chevy, a circumstance that beleaguered the team throughout the course of the two-day event.

Martin called his driver to pit road for fresh right-side tires just before the red flag was displayed for the second and final time of the evening on lap 83. After fading as deep as 23rd in the running order, Martin knew liberating track position on pit road would be the group’s best shot to get back into the top 10.

After the majority of the field took four tires during their final stop of the event’s opening act, the DIRECTV Chevy was back to ninth when the final deciding downpour drenched the speedway once and for all.

The race was eventually scrubbed for the night, just after 11 p.m. local time and Act 2 was tabled to get underway the following morning at 10 a.m.

Despite the 15-plus hour hiatus, the DIRECTV Chevy continued its uncooperative ways the next day. The loose condition didn’t subside and Bowyer faded to 19th by the event’s 116th circuit.

Try as they might on Monday, with changes and new ideas coming with every pit stop, the Martin-led crew couldn’t find their driver a handle and the Emporia, Kan., native was 24th with 100 laps to go.

Fortunately, perseverance and attrition paid off with Bowyer working the DIRECTV Chevy back into the top 20 when the checkered flag finally waved.

Carl Edwards won the race, earning his eighth career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Jimmie Johnson was second followed by Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth.

Bowyer’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton finished eighth and 12th, respectively.

Next weekend, NASCAR’s senior circuit continues with its West Coast swing as the division descends on Sin City for its annual stop just north of the world-famous Las Vegas strip.

The UAW-Dodge 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be televised live on FOX Sunday, March 2 beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). Flag-to-flag coverage will also be broadcast worldwide on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the third race of 2008 for NASCAR’s premiere division will be televised live on SPEED Friday, February 29 at 6:30 p.m. EST. PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will provide live qualifying updates.

• CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

“We just missed it, for whatever reason. Gil (crew chief Gil Martin) and the guys did everything they could to try and change the attitude of the DIRECTV Chevrolet but no matter what we did, the car didn’t respond. To be honest, I’m thankful for the top 20. Actually, it could have been a lot worse. We gained some points back and we had a great test at Las Vegas in January so I’m looking forward to putting our heads down and getting it done this weekend.”