Team 33 Watkins Glen Preview
Clint Bowyer No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet 
Event/Date: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen – August 9, 2009
Venue: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International
Clint Bowyer’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Performance History at Watkins Glen International
DATE START FINISH LAPS COMPLETED TOTAL LAPS EARNINGS STATUS
08/10/08 12 23 90 90 $ 82,025 Running
08/12/07 11 16 90 90 $ 74,900 Running
08/13/06 14 14 90 90 $ 85,700 Running
Totals/Avg. 12.3 17.7 270 270 $242,625
CLINT BOWYER NASCAR RACE NOTES:
• This Week’s Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 278 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for 2009, this Chevrolet Impala SS debuted at Infineon Raceway in June where Bowyer started 26th and finished eighth.
• Watkins Glen Facts … In three NSCS starts at Watkins Glen, Bowyer has a 14th-place finish, which came in his first start in 2006, to call his best. Additionally, the 30-year-old driver has an average starting position of 12.3, an average finish of 17.7 and has completed 100 percent of the laps contested (270 of 270).
• Loop Data Says … According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Bowyer is tied with Kyle Busch for fifth best among closers at Watkins Glen. He has gained 13 positions in the final 10 percent of laps in the last four races, trailing Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, P.J. Jones and Ryan Newman.
• Rearview Mirror … Bowyer and crew chief Shane Wilson used pit strategy to overcome damage sustained in a late-race incident to finish third in the rain-delayed Sunoco American Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway last Monday.
• Get to the Points … Bowyer enters Pocono 15th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point standings. With five races remaining before the Chase for the Sprint Cup kicks off in September at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bowyer sits 115 markers behind 12th-place point man Greg Biffle and 194 behind seventh-place Kasey Kahne. The top 12 in the Sprint Cup Series points following the September 12 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway are locked into NASCAR’s 12-team Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff field.
• Through 21 Races … Over the season’s first 21 races, Bowyer has accumulated four top-five and eight top-10 finishes, an average start of 17.8 and an average finish of 16.5. The two-time NSCS winner has led 39 laps of competition and has completed 5,490 of the 5,461 (94.3 percent) laps contested thus far.
• RCR at the Glen … In 42 starts at Watkins Glen International, RCR boasts two wins (Robby Gordon 2003, Kevin Harvick 2006), eight top-five and 17 top-10 finishes with seven different drivers. Additionally, Dale Earnhardt won three poles (1990, ’92, ’96) at the high-speed, 11-turn central New York circuit.
• The Collective RCR … In 21 races this season, RCR-prepared Sprint Cup Series entries have notched eight top-five and 19 top-10 finishes. The No. 29 team kicked off the 2009 season with a win in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. RCR-prepared cars have also completed 21,759 laps with four different drivers including Jeff Burton, Bowyer, Harvick and Casey Mears. Meanwhile, RCR teams have been atop the leaderboard for 121 laps and all four teams have earned just over $12.5 million combined purse money in 2009.
• Ride Along for a Good Cause … Help support Special Olympics and enter to win a 2009 Coca-Cola Racing Ride Along and attend the race Labor Day weekend in Atlanta! Log on to www.events.org/SpecialOlympicsCokeRideAlong for more details.
• Color Change … Bowyer’s No. 33 Chevrolet will return to its traditional yellow and red Cheerios/Hamburger Helper colors this weekend at Watkins Glen after being traded out for The Hartford’s white, blue and maroon paint scheme last weekend at Pocono.
• Testing, 1-2-3 … Bowyer tested at Virginia International Raceway Tuesday, June 2 in preparation for this weekend’s event at Watkins Glen.
• Mark Your Calendars … In honor of its 40th anniversary, RCR will host a Fan Day at the Welcome, N.C. complex on Thursday, Oct. 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 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.
• Fire Up the Team, Fire Up the Grill … General Mills has teamed up with Clorox® and Coca-Cola® to kick off an online sweepstakes where one lucky winner will win a Grand Prize trip for two to watch the big race in Concord, N.C. on October 17, 2009. The trip includes roundtrip airfare for two from the major airport nearest to the winner’s home to Charlotte, one double occupancy hotel room for two nights, $500 cash, two tickets to the General Mills suite, and a meet and greet with driver Clint Bowyer. Enter today for your chance to win at www.SummerGrillingMadeSimple.com
• CIPT Marks First Anniversary … One year ago, Richard and Judy Childress announced the formation of the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma, located at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, N.C., whose mission would be to prevent and treat the leading cause of death in children. Twelve months later, CIPT has designed an intensive first-responder training pilot program that will serve as a replicable national model and established 10 partnership and affiliates, including the World Health Organization/Centers for Disease Control and the Pediatric Medical Device Institute. Additionally, the Institute held a national conference that represented the first significant research dialogue on pediatric trauma and developed a consortium of 15 cross-appointed faculty, including nationally recognized researchers among pediatricians, pediatric surgeons and biomedical engineers. While progress has been made, hard work of education, prevention and research continues. Each year, serious injuries claim the lives of more than 12,000 children in the United States - more than all other causes combined. The Institute’s goal is to save these lives and to help kids affected by these injuries recover to lead a more normal life. To learn more about CIPT or to help children across the nation by donating, please visit www.childresspediatrictrauma.org or call 1-866-635-8190.
• Catch the Action … Live coverage of the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen will be televised on ESPN Sunday, August 9 beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will also be covered live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 22nd stop on the 36-race schedule will be televised live on ESPN2 Friday, August 7 beginning at 3:00 p.m. EDT.
CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:
You finished eighth at Infineon Raceway earlier this season. What does that tell you about Richard Childress Racing’s road course program and how do you feel about your chances for getting your first top-10 finish at Watkins Glen?
“I feel like I’ve come a long way at Watkins Glen. Kevin Harvick always seems to run well there, so that tells me that our equipment is pretty good. Road courses were not in my growing up path, so I’ve had to learn a lot about them. It seems like I’ve always been comfortable at Infineon, but for whatever reason I seem to struggle a little bit more at the Glen. But, I’ve kind of settled in there, I’ve found my way around there and I feel much more comfortable racing there now.”
What are the major differences between the two road courses?
“It’s the speed. Infineon is a lot more technical, it’s a lot slower. Watkins Glen is definitely more wide open.”
What passing zones do you look for at Watkins Glen?
“There’s really no good one. Passing into turn one, you kind of dive down in there and hope that the other cars give you some room, otherwise you’re probably going to crash. Another good passing area is heading to the bus stop. You have to have a good car, and you have to pressure the guy in front of you into making a mistake. That’s usually how you get around them.”