CLINT BOWYER
No. 15 5-hour ENERGY® TOYOTA
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Kansas Speedway Preview
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver Clint Bowyer always tries to win every race, but there is a little extra incentive to do well when he races at Kansas Speedway. The Emporia, Kan. native grew up a little more than 100 miles southwest of the 1.5 mile track in Kansas City, meaning friends and family get to see him race in person at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday. But Bowyer does not get to take it easy when he visits his home track – he has more appearances and sponsor demands than at any other track on the schedule.
ON KANSAS: “Anytime I go back to Kansas it’s always busy. I’ll have a lot of different people pulling in a lot of different directions for appearances because of the fact that it’s your home track, but I’m getting in on Wednesday night and have an appearance at the Dealers Auto Auction and from there it just keeps rolling. That’s the thing – it’s difficult to go home because of getting pulled in all the different directions—all the while trying to focus on getting a good run, because that’s really what’s important to you the most there. It’s important to me to run well in front of all my fans, friends and family.”
HAS MWR EXCEEDED YOUR EXPECTIONS: “I’m satisfied – at least for now. I guess the reason I’m satisfied is that I see that we’ve had opportunities to battle through adversity and we’ve made good decisions. That’s what it takes to succeed at this level. It’s not who can take a good day and run good with it, it’s who can have some struggles throughout the day and make the right decisions to put yourself in position to get the best finish possible. I feel like we’ve done a good job of that so far this season.”
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: BOWYER WILL APPEAR IN THE KANSAS SPEEDWAY MEDIA CENTER
ON FRIDAY AT 2 P.M. TO MAKE A TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT.
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· Bowyer at Kansas: Bowyer will make his eighth career NSCS start at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. In seven previous starts, he has one top-five and three top-10 finishes. He finished a career-best second in 2007. On average he starts 18th and finishes 12th. Bowyer’s lone win at Kansas came last spring in the Truck Series where he led 124 of 167 laps for Kevin Harvick Inc.
· Kansas Natives: Bowyer (16 combined wins in NASCAR’s top three series) and Jim Roper (NSCS win at Charlotte in 1949) are the only two drivers with Kansas recorded as their home state to have wins in NASCAR’s three national series.
· Chassis Notes: The No. 15 5-hour ENERGY team will race chassis No. 716 at Kansas. Bowyer finished sixth with No. 716 in Las Vegas. Chassis No. 721 will serve as the backup and previously served as backup at Texas, Fontana and Vegas but never raced.
· Autograph Signings: Bowyer will sign autographs from noon – 1 p.m. on Thursday at Walmart at 395 North K-7 Hwy in Olathe, Kan. and from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. at Legends Toyota of Kansas located at 10100 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kan.
· Just a Bit Outside: Bowyer will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to crew chief Brian Pattie on Friday night at the Kansas City Royals game versus the Toronto Blue Jays.
· Reporting for Duty: Bowyer will serve as the MRN Radio in-race reporter on Sunday.
· Rock Chalk Jayhawk: Bowyer and team owner Michael Waltrip traveled to New Orleans on April 2 for the NCAA basketball tournament championship game which featured the Kansas Jayhawks versus. the Kentucky Wildcats. Bowyer was cheering on the Jayhawks while Waltrip rooted for the Wildcats.
· Rolling the Dice: Bowyer attended the grand opening of the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway on Friday, Feb. 3. Bowyer helped throw out the ceremonial first dice at the craps table along with fellow driver Kasey Kahne. (Photos Available Upon Request).
