Tuesday

Clint Bowyer, No. 29 Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express Chevrolet Impala SS, Food City 250 Race Preview

No. 29 Holiday Inn / Holiday Inn Express Impala SS

Event: Food City 250 – August 21, 2009

Venue: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway

NOTES:

· This Weekend’s Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express Chevrolet Impala SS at Bristol Motor Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 068 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series stable in this Friday’s Food City 250. Bowyer has driven this No. 29 Chevy twice in 2009, finishing third at Bristol in March and 14th at Dover International Speedway in May. Jeff Burton also drove this Impala SS to a 10th-place finish at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this past May. In 2008, this chassis finished 12th at LMS in May and fourth at DIS in September.

· Statistically Speaking …

o Start and Finish … Bowyer, a seven-time NNS winner, has completed every lap contested in his nine NNS races at BMS. He has not started outside the top 16 and has only one finish outside the top 13, which came in August 2006.

o 2008 BMS Domination … In both NNS races at Bristol last season, Bowyer visited Victory Lane in March and finished second in August, leading 57.2 percent (243 of 421) of the laps contested.

o Loop ‘D Loop … According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics over the past nine races at Bristol, Bowyer leads all drivers with 2,044 laps (77.7 percent) run inside the top 15 and 1,352 total points accumulated. His driver rating of 108.2 ranks him fifth-best among all drivers in those races. The Driver Rating is a formula that combines the following categories: wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum points a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The Driver Rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.

o Bowyer’s 2009 NNS Recap … In six NNS starts this season, the defending series champion has earned one win, one pole and four top-three finishes. He boasts a 6.3 average start, a 9.2 average finish and has completed 99.7 percent (1,039 of 1,042) of the laps contested.

o RCR in Thunder Valley … In 44 NNS starts at Bristol, RCR-prepared Chevrolets have earned 20 top-five and 25-top 10 finishes. They have six wins among three different drivers, including four with Kevin Harvick (August 2000, August 2001, March 2003 and April 2005), one with Jeff Green (March 2002) and one with Bowyer (March 2008). The Welcome, N.C.,-based organization has led 1,581 laps at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” and boasts a 13.1 finishing average.

· Double-Down in Tennessee … In addition to his NNS driver duties, Bowyer will pilot the No. 33 Hamburger Helper Chevrolet in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the 0.533-mile Tennessee oval. With three races remaining before the 12-team Chase for the Sprint Cup is set, Bowyer & Co. are 14th in the NSCS championship standings, 58 markers behind the coveted 12th-place spot. Live coverage of the Sharpie 500 will begin Saturday, August 22 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on ESPN. The race will also be broadcast on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio.

· Rearview Mirror … Jeff Burton drove RCR’s green, white and blue No. 29 Chevrolet to a ninth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway last Saturday. With 12 races remaining in the 2009 NNS season, the Richard Childress-owned team remains seventh in the owners’ point standings, 107 markers behind Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 33 entry in fifth.

· Stay Updated … Last Friday, Holiday Inn Racing launched their Twitter account. For behind-the-scenes information about the No. 29 team and updates throughout each race weekend, visit www.twitter.com/HolidayInnRacin.

· Crew Chief’s Hometown … Doug Randolph, crew chief on RCR’s No. 29 NNS Chevy, hails from Morristown, Tenn., which is located approximately 70 miles southwest of Bristol. Since joining the team beginning in May, Randolph has led the No. 29 team to one win, one pole, nine top-10 finishes and a respectable 9.2 finishing average.

· Dixie Stampede Online Winner … David Guthrie, a Tennessee native, won Dixie Stampede’s online contest. Guthrie’s prize package includes a two-night stay at the Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Holiday Inn, two tickets to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede Dinner Attraction and two tickets to both the Food City 250 and Sharpie 500. Dixie Stampede is an associate sponsor on the RCR’s No. 29 NNS Chevrolet. For more information, please visit www.dixiestampede.com.

· Race Broadcast Information … The Food City 250 will be televised live on Friday, August 21 beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN2. PRN and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio will begin their live race coverage at 7:15 p.m. EDT. Qualifying for the 24th event of the 2009 NNS season will air live the same day beginning at 4 p.m. EDT on SPEED. PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will also broadcast live updates of time trials.

· Mark Your Calendars … In honor of its 40th anniversary, RCR will host a Fan Day at the Welcome, N.C. complex on Thursday, October 22 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Activities include driver and pit crew autograph sessions, self-guided tours of RCR’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide shops as well as ECR’s engine shop, radio remotes, musical entertainment, pit crew competition, viewing of the DALE movie, question-and-answer session with team owner Richard Childress and much more. General admission to RCR’s Fan Day is just $5, which will benefit the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma.

· Online With the Times … To keep up with the latest news and information about Richard Childress Racing and to view exclusive online content, visit the team’s official website at www.RCRRacing.com. For qualifying and race results, check us out at www.twitter.com/RCRRacing.

Clint Bowyer wins the Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona - Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

Last season, you dominated both Nationwide Series races at Bristol and this season you finished third. What can you say about your recent success there?

“Bristol is definitely one of my better tracks in the Nationwide Series and it seems to fit my driving style. RCR has always prepared good-handling Chevrolets for me there and I’ve learned my way around the high-banked corners. Last season, we had the dominant car in both races, but came up short in the fall race. We had a solid run this past spring and, hopefully, we can continue to run up front and try to get this No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet back to Victory Lane.”

How big was it to win a race at Bristol?

“It was a ton of fun and that’s one of the tracks that you want to win at on the circuit. It’s a hard race track and it’s demanding. If you can go there and beat the rest of the field, at a place like Bristol, you’ve been rewarded for a hard day’s work.”

DOUG RANDOLPH (CREW CHIEF) QUOTE:

What are your thoughts heading into this Friday night’s Nationwide Series race at Bristol?

“Our short-track program has been pretty solid this season, especially when Clint is driving because those tracks fit his driving style. I wasn’t around for the third-place run at Bristol in the spring, but I’m confident we can match it, if not do better than it, this weekend. We seem to have that place figured out as an organization on the Nationwide Series side and, hopefully, we can carry that momentum over to this weekend.”

What are the keys to running well at Bristol?

“The biggest thing for the race will be getting the car to enter and exit the corners consistently. Although this is a short track, the cars carry a lot of speed in and off the high-banked turns. The progressive banking in the corners allows for several different lines to choose from, so we’ll adjust our Chevy to whichever line works best for Clint. Another key aspect at Bristol is qualifying towards the front and staying out of trouble. If we can do that, we should be in contention for another top-three finish and an overall strong points day.”

- Richard Childress Racing Press Release