Catchfence

No. 33 Hamburger Helper Chevrolet

Race Notes and Quotes

This Week’s Hamburger Helper Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot chassis No. 340 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 33 Chevrolet Impala, built new in 2011, has made three appearances at the race track this season. The first was at Phoenix International Raceway in February, where Bowyer finished 27th after being collected in a multi-car accident on lap 68. Bowyer also drove this chassis at Martinsville Speedway in April, leading 91 laps en route to a ninth-place finish and Richmond International Raceway in May where Bowyer finished sixth after a third-place qualifying effort.

Career Bristol Stats … The IRWIN Tools Night Race marks Bowyer’s 205th career NSCS start.

• In 11 NSCS starts at the half-mile oval, Bowyer owns three top-five and five top-10 finishes.
• He has completed 89.5 percent (4,935 of 5,513) of the total laps contested at BMS during his career.
• The Emporia, Kan., native has led 82 total laps at BMS.
• Bowyer owns an average starting position of 20.5 and average finishing position of 18.3.
• His best efforts at the Tennessee facility are two third-place finishes in the August 2007 and March 2008 events.

Red and Black Attack … For the first and only time during the 2011 NSCS season, the red and black Hamburger Helper paint scheme will adorn Bowyer’s No. 33 Chevrolet this weekend at the half-mile bullring of Bristol Motor Speedway.

Biscuits with Bowyer … Lisa’s Country Kitchen in Jefferson City, Tenn. is giving 300 lucky fans the opportunity to have lunch with Bowyer on August 24, 2011. The two-hour event, scheduled to kickoff at 11 a.m. local time, will feature an autograph session with the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner and allows fans to be photographed with the No. 33 Chevrolet that he pilots each weekend. Fans can also participate in interactive games and win fun prizes from Bowyer’s primary sponsor General Mills. Each race fan in attendance will also have the opportunity to try the restaurant’s brand-new “Bowyer BBQ Biscuit,” a pulled pork barbeque biscuit sandwich inspired by Bowyer’s Midwestern roots. Wristbands and raffle tickets will be given out to the first 300 fans present the morning of August 24 starting at 10 a.m. Lisa’s Country Kitchen is located at 1712 North Highway 92 in Jefferson City, Tenn., just 30 miles east of Knoxville and 80 miles southwest of Bristol Motor Speedway, the host of this weekend’s NASCAR events. The restaurant recently secured the Bowyer appearance by winning the grand prize in a restaurant operator sweepstakes sponsored by General Mills.

Food City Race Night … Bowyer and his No. 33 team crew chief Shane Wilson will participate in Food City Race Night at 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 25 along with many other Sprint Cup Series drivers and teams. Tickets are $5 in advance, $6 at the door (all proceeds go to charity) and wristbands that guarantee an autograph from Bowyer and Wilson are limited to the first 400 fans. The event is slated to take place in downtown Bristol on State Street. For more information log on to http://www.foodcity.com/community/racing/food-city-race-night/.

Double Duty … Bowyer will jump in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event on Friday, August 26. In 11 NNS starts at Bristol, Bowyer has one win (March 2008), five top-five and eight top-10 finishes and has also led 254 laps.

Bowyer Ticket Package … Bristol Motor Speedway is offering all Bowyer fans a ticket package which includes a ticket to the NSCS race on Saturday, an autographed Bowyer hat, a BMS sling bag and an exclusive Q & A session with the him and RCR teammates Jeff Burton and Paul Menard in the BMS Hospitality Village at 3:15 p.m. on raceday. Fans interested in purchasing the special package, priced at $125, can do so by calling the BMS ticket office at (866) 415-4158 and asking for the “Clint Bowyer Ticket Package.”

Irish Hills … After starting deep in the field in the 35th position, Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet team scored their ninth top-10 finish of the 2011 NSCS season, bringing home an eighth-place effort last weekend in the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Points Racing … With his eighth-place result last weekend at MIS, Bowyer remained 11th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings. He now sits just 24 markers out of 10th with three races remaining until the cutoff for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:

Having a blown motor like you did in the March (2011) race at Bristol Motor Speedway isn’t the best feeling, but is it better if it happens at the end of the race?

“It’s never good, but yeah, I think so because all the hype and hard work leads up to the finish of the race. Seeing how it is going to play out then ‘boom!’ It’s never good, but that’s a part of racing.”

Can you explain to the fans how fast things happen at Bristol Motor Speedway?“Everything happens so fast. The key to success at a track like Bristol is you have to be able to get in the car, settle down and slow everything down, including the pace. You have to think and if you can do all that, you prevail there. Some teams do it better than others. That’s a very difficult situation. If your car is really loose, you don’t have time to breathe and settle down. It’s a difficult situation to be in. You have to slow everything down. I think that’s the key to having success there.”

We’ve seen more two and three-wide racing at Bristol Motor Speedway lately. What do you think about that?

“I think that the quality of racing at Bristol is much better now than it has been in the years past. The fans want to see some wrecks and some emotions when they go to a short track, and they get that at Bristol. If you’re a true fan and like the quality of racing, you also get that at Bristol.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release