Race:
O’Reilly Auto Parts ChallengeLocation: Texas Motor Speedway
Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series Race Notes:
RCR’s NASCAR Nationwide Series History at Texas … In 35 previous NNS appearances at Texas Motor Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has acquired four wins, 11 top-five finishes, 21 top-10s and one pole. The organization has led 564 laps at Texas and has completed 90.2 percent of the laps attempted at the 1.5-mile oval (6,099 of 6,760).
Averages … RCR boasts an average start position of 12.7 and an average finish position of 12.9 among all NNS races the organization has contested at Texas.
Harvick’s Track … Each of RCR’s four NNS wins at Texas came with driver Kevin Harvick, who is currently just one win shy of the track’s all-time race win record in NNS competition. Other RCR drivers have fared well in the NNS at Texas as well. In the organization’s last fall appearance at the track in November 2009, Casey Mears posted a second-place finish.
RCR teams have posted top-10 finishes in 10 of the last 13 NNS attempts at Texas. In addition to Mears’ runner-up finish last fall, Jeff Burton finished eighth in April 2009 and Clint Bowyer finished sixth in April 2008.
Twitter … To keep up-to-date with the latest news and information and to view exclusive content, visit RCR’s NASCAR Nationwide Series team Twitter page – @RCR21NNS, and RCR’s Official Twitter page – @RCRRacing.
Catch the Action … Flag-to-flag coverage of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge will be televised live on Saturday, November 6, beginning at 12 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on ESPN2 and on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio at 12:15 p.m.
Clint Bowyer
No. 21 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Impala
Race Notes and Quotes
This Week’s Zaxby’s Chevrolet at Texas … Clint Bowyer will drive Chassis No. 080 in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge. Bowyer was running second in this Chevrolet at Dover International Speedway in May when contact with another competitor with just three laps remaining relegated the team to a disappointing 25th-place finish. In addition, John Wes Townley drove this Chevrolet to a career-best 15th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February.
Bowyer’s Texas Stats … In nine previous NNS starts at Texas, Bowyer has earned two top-five finishes and five top-10s. His best Texas finish to date of third came in April 2008.
In the Spring … In the Spring NNS race at Texas, Bowyer had a competitive Zaxby’s Chevrolet, and ran in the top five for much of the race, but finished a less-than-desired 35th after a mid-race incident when a right-front tire went down as a result of fender damage from a side-by-side battle for fourth position.
Seven Years Ago … Clint Bowyer made his career-first NNS start at Texas Motor Speedway on April 3, 2004. Since that time, the Emporia, Kans., native has acquired eight wins, 62 top-five finishes, 108 top-10s, eight pole awards and the 2008 NNS Driver’s Championship among 168 series starts.
Stockman Calling the Shots … Danny Stockman will serve as crew chief for the No. 21 Zaxby’s Chevrolet this weekend. Stockman, the fulltime crew chief for Raybestos rookie of the year contender Austin Dillon in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, made his debut as Bowyer’s crew chief in the NNS at Bristol in August. Several members of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet will join Stockman in Richmond this weekend. This season, Stockman, a 28-year-old California native, has earned race wins in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (Iowa, Las Vegas) and ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards (Kansas, Rockingham), with drivers Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon.
Zaxby’s Last Hoorah … Saturday’s race marks the last NNS race for Zaxby’s and the RCR NNS program this season. RCR and KHI recently announced a partnership in which KHI will field NNS entries in 2011 with RCR providing chassis, engine and technical support. Since its inception in 2000, RCR’s Nationwide Series program has earned 56 victories and five championships; two overall championships (2001, 2006 with Kevin Harvick), two owners-only titles (2003 with Harvick and Johnny Sauter; 2007 with Jeff Burton and Scott Wimmer), and one driver-only title (2008 with Clint Bowyer).
Double Duty … Following Saturday’s NNS race at Texas, Bowyer will compete in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas in the No. 33 Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet.
What are your thoughts on Texas Motor Speedway?
“Speed is more important than handling at Texas. The Nationwide cars carry a lot of speed entering the corners and the key is finding the groove where your car handles the best. That can be tricky during the Nationwide race because Texas is the type of track where additional grooves develop as the weekend progresses. On Sunday, there are more options because the track has been raced on all weekend. I really like Texas. It’s fast, you have got to get the car rolling the centers. You can get too loose there, but I’d definitely prefer a loose car there over a tight one. I’ve finished as high as third but I haven’t won there yet so it would be neat to get that opportunity this weekend. Those cowboy hats they give you in victory lane look pretty neat.”
- Richard Childress Racing Press Release