Catchfence

2009 NSCS Clint Bowyer - (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

· This Week’s BB&T Chevrolet at Richmond International Raceway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 218 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Chevrolet Impala SS debuted in March at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway where Bowyer started third and finished fifth.

· Stat Facts …

o Defending Champion … Bowyer enters Richmond as the defending champion of the event. The Emporia, Kan., native found himself in the right place at the right time when he was running third and an incident among the front runners opened the door for him to take the race lead. Bowyer led the final two laps to pick up his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win.

o Richmond Facts … Bowyer’s average running position of 12.2 and driver rating of 93.3 rank him seventh best at RIR. Of the 2,410 laps that Bowyer has completed at the D-shaped oval, 1,734 of them have come while running inside the top 15. In six NSCS starts at RIR, Bowyer has one win, one top-five and three top-10 finishes, an average starting position of 19.8 and an average finish of 9.3

o Rearview Mirror … Bowyer started fifth and finished 39th at Talladega Superspeedway last week. Bowyer showed in Friday’s two practice sessions that he had a car capable of contending not only for the pole on Saturday, but also for the win on Sunday. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for the Richard Childress Racing team, as Bowyer was involved in an early accident that eliminated him from contention. However, Bowyer’s team demonstrated a never-quit attitude that allowed the Emporia, Kan., native to continue his impressive streak of running at the finish of 82 consecutive NSCS races.

o Speaking of Running at the Finish … Bowyer has been running at the end of every race dating back to Phoenix in November 2006, a streak of 82 races. When the two-time NSCS winner crossed the finish line at Talladega, he set a new modern-era record of 82 consecutive races without a DNF (did not finish). Bowyer is now just two races shy of tying the all-time record held by Herman Beam, who did not run his races consecutively, but did make 84 starts from 1961-1963 without recording a DNF.

o Starting Out Strong … In his fourth season of full-time NSCS competition, Bowyer is off to the strongest start of his brief career. In the nine races held thus far, Bowyer has accumulated three top-five and four top-10 finishes, an average start of 20.3 and an average finish of 15.1. He is currently ranked eighth in the championship point standings, 201 markers behind leader Kurt Busch and a mere 92 behind fifth-place point-man Denny Hamlin.

o RCR at RIR … Richard Childress is tied for fourth with Bud Moore for car owner victories at Richmond with seven – five with Dale Earnhardt, one with Kevin Harvick and RCR’s most recent checkered flag at “The Action Track” when Bowyer won last May. Additionally, in 107 starts at RIR, RCR boasts 29 top-five and 50 top-10 finishes with nine different drivers including Earnhardt, Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Jeff Green, Robby Gordon, Harvick, Ricky Rudd and Mike Skinner. Childress, a former driver on NASCAR’s senior circuit, contributed three of those top 10s from 1976-1978.

· Meet the Driver … Bowyer will participate in the 8th Annual “Kroger Night with the Drivers” on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at Amphitheater at the Richmond Raceway Complex from 5-7 p.m. Tickets are available at local Kroger stores in the Richmond area and at Ticketmaster for $25. Proceeds from ticket sales go to Victory Junction Gang Camp.

* Catch the Action … Live coverage of the Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400 from Richmond International Raceway will take the green flag Saturday, May 2 beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 10th stop on the 36-race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour will be televised live on SPEED Friday, May 1 at 5:30 EDT. MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will provide qualifying updates live.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:

You walk into Richmond as the defending champion of the race. What’s that like?

“That was probably the most fun I’ve ever had winning a race. I’ve never had one of those surprise, shocker, hand-it-to-you wins. I thought to myself, ‘wow, this is awesome.’” I thought we were going to have a third-place finish and then bam – that happened and we won. We had a fast BB&T Chevrolet all day. Richmond has always been a good track for me. I’ve won in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series there. I’m looking forward to getting there and having another good run.”

Can you put yourself back in the driver’s seat one year ago? You’re running good, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch are racing for the lead and maybe you’re thinking there isn’t enough laps to get up there and battle with them. What was going through your mind as it all unfolded?

“We started way deep in the field (31st), but we got up there towards the front and I thought we could be a threat for the win. We needed one more pit stop to free the car up just a little bit so we could contend. We were riding third when I saw them (Earnhardt, Jr. and Busch) start beating and banging and I thought to myself ‘I just need to ride right here and see what happens, take care of the car and if something happens, it’ll be there for the taking.’” You’ve got to look at who’s up there racing and how hard they’re racing, and get up there close enough that if something happens you’re in a position to take advantage of it. I got up there close enough to them and, sure enough, it happened.”

Did you notice the crowd reaction?

“Oh yeah. That was the first thing. When he (Busch) wrecked Junior, there were a lot of number one’s from the fans, and it wasn’t with their index fingers!”

Did you think Kyle was going to need an armed escort leaving the track?

“That was the first thing I said in Victory Lane. They asked me what it felt like, and all I could say was ‘can someone make sure Kyle gets out of here in one piece?’ I’m pretty sure he had an escort out of there that night.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release