Catchfence

Clint Bowyer - Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images for NASCAR

No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet

Race Notes and Quotes

This Week’s BB&T Chevrolet at Richmond International Raceway…Clint Bowyer will pilot chassis No. 340 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 33 Chevrolet Impala has made two appearances at the race track this season. The first was at Phoenix International Raceway in February, where Bowyer finished 27^th after being collected in a multi-car accident on lap 68. Bowyer also drove this chassis earlier this month at Martinsville Speedway, leading 91 laps en route to a ninth-place finish.

Career Richmond Stats … The Crown Royal 400 marks Bowyer’s 190^th NSCS start.

In 10 NSCS starts at Richmond, Bowyer owns one win (May 2008), one top-five and five top-10 finishes.

He has completed 100% of the laps (4,010 of 4,010) contested at RIR during his career.

The Emporia, Kan., native has led 57 laps at the 3/4-mile facility.

Bowyer owns a 16.3 average starting position and a top-10 average finishing position of 9.8.

BB&T Colors … Bowyer’s Chevrolet Impala will sport the maroon and yellow paint scheme of BB&T this weekend under the lights. The Winston-Salem, N.C., corporation has 25 bank branches located in the Richmond area.

Winner, Winner … Bowyer has two victories at the “Action Track,” one win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in May 2007 and another in NASCAR’s senior series in May 2008.

Last Time in Richmond … After starting fourth, Bowyer and the No. 33 team clinched a spot in the 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by finishing sixth in the Air Guard 400.

So Close … Prior to enjoying an off weekend on the schedule, Bowyer led a race high 15 times for 38 laps as the No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet team narrowly missed a second consecutive trip to Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway, finishing a NASCAR-record tying 0.002 seconds behind race winner Jimmie Johnson in a four-wide finish in the Aaron’s 499.

The Biggest Loser … Bowyer made his second appearance on NBC’s hit show “The Biggest Loser” on Tuesday, April 26. The show challenges and encourages overweight contestants to shed pounds in a safe and recommended manner through comprehensive diet and exercise as they compete for a $250,000 grand prize. In the episode, contestants took part in the popular “Get Back on Track Challenge” by pulling street cars down the 2,500-foot back straightaway of Auto Club Speedway, located in Fontana, Calif.

Points Racing … After his fourth top-10 finish in as many weeks, Bowyer jumped two more positions, to 10^th, in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings

Calling All Bowyer Fans … Bowyer will stop by his merchandise hauler in the RIR vending area on Saturday, April 30 at Noon EDT to sign autographs. The first 100 fans to stop at the No. 33 merchandise hauler in advance will receive a ticket.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:

You didn’t have a good spring race in Richmond last year, but the fall race went well.

“Well, that’s a good thing. You usually lean on that fall race to have a good run. Richmond is a neat track. I’ve won there in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series. That track has always been good to me and we always seem to run well there. I’m looking forward to going back there. It’s one of my favorites.”

You led 33 laps and finished sixth in the fall. At any point during that race, did you think you had a car to win?

“Yeah, a few times, that’s the tricky thing. Richmond is one of those tracks that you can be good and then people catch up to you. You have to continue to get better throughout the race. If you can’t, you’re going to end up falling back. I think that was pretty much the case. We beat everyone to the punch. We were really good early in the race, but by the end, they caught up to us. We struggled to find a better setup.”

A lot of people call Bristol Motor Speedway the “perfect short track.” There’s a little bit of speedway and a little bit of short track. How do you feel Richmond compares?

“I think Richmond is the perfect-sized race track. As a fan of this sport, you get to see everything. You get the sensation of speed. You get to see all of us beating and banging on each other on the track. It’s just a perfect-sized race track. I wish we had about three or four more of them on the schedule.”

You get going down the straightaway at Richmond and sometimes you can go three or four wide. Is it spooky going into turn one? Are you thinking “I don’t want to give it up, but I think I have to”?

“Yeah, and these double file restarts really make entering turn one pretty wild. It’s three or four wide and if someone doesn’t give, they’re going to wreck at least one car or several of them. That’s what’s neat about it — you can make a pass, get under someone and they’re going to drive down hard on the outside of you. They might get you loose or you might lock up your brakes and get into them. You just have to be careful on those restarts, especially, with these double files.”

– Richard Childress Racing, Press Release