CLINT BOWYER
No. 15 PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Toyota
Talladega Superspeedway Preview
LOOKING FOR A DREAM WEEKEND
CORNELIUS, N.C. — The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Talladega Superspeedway for the Aaron’s 499 Dream Weekend. And you aren’t dreaming if you think Clint Bowyer has a shot at visiting victory lane Sunday.
That’s because Bowyer has two wins at the 2.66-mile oval, both coming in October of 2010 and 2011. Also, half of his 16 starts have ended in top-10 runs. And he ranks second only to his team owner Michael Waltrip in fastest laps run at Talladega.
His No. 15 Toyota is outfitted in the PEAK® Antifreeze and Motor Oil colors for the second time this season. The last time was Auto Club Speedway in March where Bowyer was ready to take the lead with less than two laps to go when a tire went down, spoiling his shot at winning.
With an exciting new qualifying system in place that will be televised on Fox at 1 p.m. ET and a record that proves Bowyer knows how to get around the Alabama track, the dream of a good weekend may become a reality.
What will the new qualifying format be like at Talladega?
“I don’t know, it’s going to be hard. You’re going to have to play your cards right because you’re obviously going to have to get back there and have to get a good run on the field and get a good pull, but no more than you do that then that guy’s done. As soon as he does that, he’s not going to help the next guy do it. He’s going to get his lap, he’s selfish and get the heck out of the way and out of danger. That being said, the farther you go along, the less cars there’s going to be and you won’t have a chance to run that big lap. Definitely going to have to pay attention and I would say luck will play a little bit into it as well.”
Crew Chief Brian Pattie on Talladega:
Last time we ran the PEAK Toyota at Fontana we had a shot to win. I expect no less this weekend either. Clint is good at plate tracks. He knows how to see the air and put himself in the right situations. Qualifying is going to be quite interesting too. I think the fans are going to enjoy it. It’s certainly going to be exciting.
CHASSIS
Chassis: Chassis No. 754 serves as the primary chassis for Bowyer at Talladega Superspeedway. Martin Truex Jr. drove this Toyota to a 24th-place finish in the 2013 Daytona 500. He also drove this Chassis to a eighth-place finish in the May 2013 Talladega race. Chassis No. 755 serves as the back-up chassis. Bowyer drove this car to an 11th-place finish in the 2013 Daytona 500 and to an 18th-place finish at Talladega in May 2013.
TALLADEGA STATS
· Two wins (October 2010 and 2011)
· Four top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 16 starts
· Completed 2,625 of 3,040 laps (86.3 %) and led 98 laps
· Average start 18.9 and average finish 15.9
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
¨ Registration for the second annual “PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge,” closes Wednesday, April 30 at midnight.
¨ The PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge will award one grassroots racer (the contest winner) a PEAK racing sponsorship in a sanctioned race.
¨ Finalists will be will be selected based on video auditions, online gaming or social media fan support.
¨ The finalists will be invited to participate in a competition on June 9-11 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
¨ Visit PEAKStockCarDream.comto submit a video audition and view the official rules.
¨ In 2013, 700 entrants were narrowed to one driver, Patrick Staropoli, a 23-year-old who was attending medical school.
¨ Since winning the PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge, Staropoli has taken the No. 99 PEAK Toyota to victory lane at Irwindale Speedway in March and has several top-10 finishes in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races.
MWR @ TALLADEGA
Michael Waltrip Racing will field three Toyotas this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. In addition to Brian Vickers in the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota and Clint Bowyer in the No. 15 PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Toyota, team owner Michael Waltrip will drive in his second race of the season in the No. 66 BlueDEF Toyota. Waltrip has four plate wins including one at Talladega in September 2003.
