BUSCH: Daytona: Clint Bowyer preview

Clint Bowyer
New Year. New Look. Same Goals.

Huntersville, N.C. (Feb. 15th, 2005) -- ACDelco is no stranger to Busch Series championships. The last time this NASCAR sponsor enjoyed a championship, Kevin Harvick was behind the wheel of the No. 2 Richard Childress Chevrolet and the year was 2001. Since that time, the RCR organization has fallen just short of putting the ACDelco Chevrolet back on top of the Busch Series points standings.

Clint Bowyer is a 25 year-old Emporia, Kan. native who is also no stranger to championships. With numerous motocross and Modified division championships, one word can easily describe this past NASCAR Weekly Racing Series champion. And it's winner! He's a winner with a resume that proves it.

In late 2003, hard work and 20 years of dedication to racing paid off when Richard Childress called on him to share a seat with Kevin Harvick. Bowyer and Harvick teamed up to race RCR's No. 21 Reese's Chevrolet during the 2004 Busch Series season. As a part time driver, Bowyer scored four top-five finishes and almost won a race.

The upcoming 2005 Busch Series season will look different for Bowyer. He'll be in a different car and he's earned his shot at full time Busch Series racing. Richard Childress and ACDelco believe they have found the driver who will help them accomplish their goal of winning back the Busch Series championship.

"Our goals are set to win that championship," Bowyer said. "Richard is a championship winner and he wins championships and that's what he's there for and that's what he's used to. Basically, you either do it or somebody else will do it."

Points of Interest...

* Runnin' It... Team ACDelco will take chassis No. 31 to Daytona Int'l Speedway. This is the same chassis that Ron Hornaday drove at Daytona Int'l Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway last year. It posted three top-five starts, one top-five finish and three top-10 finishes between the two tracks with Hornaday behind the wheel.

* Superspeedway stats... Bowyer is a quick study when it comes to the superspeedways. His only start at Daytona Int'l Speedway came last year in the ARCA series when he drove a car for ARCA series regular Bobby Gerhart. He started fifth and finished eighth. He also made a start at Talladega Superspeedway behind the wheel of RCR's No. 21 Reese's Chevrolet where he grabbed the pole. The 25-year old was well on his way to claiming a top-five finish before a last lap accident resulted in a 22nd place finish.

* Testing 1, 2, 3... Bowyer made his presence felt immediately during the NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona Int'l Speedway on January 22-24 by posting the fastest time of the day. Bowyer's best lap was 49.572 seconds, an average speed of 181.554 mph, during Saturday's opening single-car session for the NASCAR Busch Series.

* Start time...for Saturday's Hershey's TAKE 5 300 is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern. TV coverage of the 150-lap event on FOX begins at 1:00 p.m. with live radio coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. Eastern on MRN. Remember times and dates of the race may change so check your local listings.

No. 2 ACDelco driver Clint Bowyer on Daytona International Speedway and the upcoming 2005 season...

You guys came off the truck hot during NASCAR Preseason Thunder. Your thoughts?

"Being fastest of the day was important for our team's morale. We're trying to turn things around at RCR. We were very pleased and I was extremely glad for the guys back home. Our engine shop worked frantically to get us good stuff. To come here and unload fast and stay there says a lot. Things are looking good."

When you look at the 2005 schedule, what racetracks do you look forward to racing the most?

"To win a championship I believe that you need to look forward to them all, but one of those guitars from Nashville sure would be nice. I've gotten close a few times, so maybe this will be my year. There are also some tracks that I have not raced on yet, and those will be obstacles."

How about the new Impounding procedure?

"If it gives the guys a break and saves the teams some money then I agree with it. It still looks like the travel is going to be the same though and that is what wears everyone down. We are going to have a lot of practice time in Daytona so it will not be much of an issue this first race. But as far as the crews and team owners are concerned, I think NASCAR has made another step in the right direction."

In 2003 you received the call that every driver dreams about. What was your life like prior to the call?

"My life was not any different than anyone else's running the weekly series. I'd work all day just to work all night on my race car. And as soon as the weekend came it was "race time". But getting the call from Richard Childress was the call that has changed my life. If I was ever to have an owner of a race team call me, I would have wanted it to be Richard, and there he was on the other end of the phone wanting me to drive for him. It's a dream come true."

What do you think of the new Fan Fest Zone?

"It's really cool with the way they've got it set up. Obviously, it's great for the fans. They were loaded in there for Busch testing. That's not really too normal for tracks either to have such a great turnout for testing. They have done a good job and that's what drives the sport. When I came here for the first time last year I was just in awe. I had never even seen a track this big. I come from the dirt tracks in the Midwest and to walk in the gate of this place and see this, this is four race tracks. It does means a lot, there's a lot of history here and just to be able to make laps on it means a lot."

-rcr-