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[/media-credit]BOWYER EYES RETURN OF “WIN ON SUNDAY, SELL ON MONDAY”
IN NEW 2013 TOYOTA CAMRY RACECAR DESIGN
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver Clint Bowyer spent Tuesday afternoon in Salisbury, N.C. at Toyota Racing Development attending the unveiling of the 2013 Toyota Camry that will race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starting in February’s Daytona 500.
Bowyer knows how to sell cars. Before his driving career, Bowyer worked at a Toyota car dealership.
“I grew up working in dealerships,” explained Bowyer. “I worked at a Toyota dealership back home in Kansas, so I understand the importance of the saying, ‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.’ I certainly saw that when I was working in dealerships.
“With the look of the new 2013 Toyota Camry that we’re going to be racing next year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, I can definitely see where we are really getting back to that. People want to go into their dealership and see a car that looks like the one that just won the race on Sunday. I think we are seeing that now and it will re-energize the fans and help sell some Toyota Camrys.”
Bowyer says he likes the look of the new Toyota Camry and notes that the design has come a long way since the debut of the “Car of Tomorrow.”
“I think it looks awesome. It looks sexy. I think it is far superior to where we were when the Car of Tomorrow was unveiled. I think it’s so important, everything that we’ve done here as of late with Electronic Fuel Injection and everything, I think that redesigning the cars so they look more like production models needed to be done even before that.
“The look and feel the a car has been so important to NASCAR since the very start and I think we got away from that quite a bit in the last five or six years, so to see the return of a production look to the Camry is extremely important.”
The Michael Waltrip Racing driver sees a bright future for NASCAR and Toyota with the improvements to the new cars.
“I’m proud and excited to be in a Toyota. I’m excited for the car and the future of the new Camry. I’m excited about the future of NASCAR. That’s really the biggest thing – it’s not just the Camry that is going to be on the track that resembles the Camry off the track, but all the manufacturers are going to have cars on the track that resemble what they sell. That is going to help.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· BOWYER IN THE 600: Bowyer will make his seventh start in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. In his six previous attempts Bowyer has one top-10 (seventh in 2010) and two top-15s. He led three laps in 2010. On average he starts 23rd and finishes 22nd.
· BOWYER AT CHARLoTTE: Bowyer will make his 13th NSCS points paying start at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. In his previous 12 starts Bowyer has one top-five and three top-10 finishes. He finished second and led 79 laps in the fall 2007 race. He has led a total of 86 laps, an average start of 19th and finish of 18th.
· RED, WHITE AND BLUE: The No. 15 paint scheme features a red, white and blue outline around the number and stars incorporated throughout the design in support of “NASCAR Unites—An American Salute.”
· NASCAR UNITES – AN AMERICAN SALUTE: Is an initiative uniting 5-hour ENERGY, Michael Waltrip Racing, the NASCAR industry and fans this summer to celebrate America and enhance the lives of U.S. military families. The NASCAR Unites Military Family Fund will benefit the USO and support our troops. Click Here to view the No. 15’s commemorative souvenirs surrounding this weekend’s NASCAR Unites program.
· CHASSIS NOTES: Primary Chassis No. 716 started fifth and finished sixth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and started eighth and finished 36th at Kansas Speedway. Bowyer was racing in the fifth position at Kansas when he lost a cylinder and was forced to the garage for repairs. Chassis No. 721 is the backup and previously served backup duty at Las Vegas, California, Texas, Kansas, Darlington and last weekend’s All-Star Race at Charlotte but never raced.
· 2013 TOYOTA CAMRY REVEAL: Bowyer and team owner Michael Waltrip visited the Toyota Racing Development campus in Salisbury, N.C. on Wednesday for the unveiling of the 2013 Toyota Camry that will race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning at the 2013 Daytona 500.
· PRELUDE TO THE DREAM: Bowyer, last year’s Prelude to the Dream winner, will make his sixth start in the dirt track exhibition on June 6 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Clint Bowyer Racing also built the race winning car for Jimmie Johnson in 2010. Bowyer has never finished outside the top-five. The 2012 Feed The Children Prelude to the Dream will be broadcast live on HBO Pay Per View.
· BOWYER THE ALL-STAR: Bowyer made his fourth career All-Star start at Charlotte Motor Speedway last Saturday night. Bowyer finished 16th in the non-points paying event. Bowyer qualified for the All-Star Race by winning last fall at Talladega Superspeedway.
· VICTORY BURNOUT: Bowyer won the fifth-annual Shell-Pennzoil Victory Burnout Challenge on Saturday before the Sprint Showdown. The $10,000 top prize will be awarded to Bowyer’s favorite charity – the Emporia (Kan.) Community Foundation.
· DRIVE FOR THE COVER: Activision and NASCAR Team Properties have created an exciting campaign that invites fans to vote for their favorite NASCAR driver to be featured on the cover of NASCAR The Game: Inside Line due to be released this fall. The campaign will position 32 drivers in a five-round bracket-style tournament to select the cover driver for this year’s game.
