CORNELIUS, N.C. — After enjoying a rare off-weekend for the Easter holiday, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Duck Commander 500.
It’s the first night race of the season for Bowyer and the rest of the Sprint Cup competitors. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver and his No. 15 5-hour ENERGY team are ready to get back after it at one of the circuit’s fastest 1.5-mile ovals.
It’s obvious Bowyer knows how to get around the 24-degree banked turns at Texas. More than half of his 18 runs have resulted in top-10 finishes. He will be hunting for another good finish to add to his total in Saturday’s Duck Commander 500.
What can we expect at Texas?
“Texas is one of those big, fast, high-banked race tracks. You just have to go. We had a good run going at Martinsville and looking to get another one for this 5-hour ENERGY Toyota. I’ve had some good runs going at Texas. We’ve been close before. I know the guys have been working hard to get our Toyota ready to go. Racing under the lights is going to be cool. As drivers it adds a little extra excitement so I’m sure it will for the fans too.”
CHASSIS
Chassis No. 797 serves as Bowyer’s primary chassis at Texas. Bowyer raced the chassis at Bristol in August (17th), Charlotte in May (17th) and California (16th). Chassis No. 816 serves as back-up for Bowyer. It served as the back-up earlier this year at California and Las Vegas.
NO. 15 CREW ROSTER
Brian Pattie
Crew Chief
Terry Spalding
Front Tire Changer
Allen Steele
Front Tire Carrier
Lee Cunningham
Rear Tire Changer
P.J. Briody
Rear Tire Carrier
Brian Chase
Jack Man
Evan Marchal
Gas Man
J.D. Frey
Car Chief
Brett Griffin
Spotter
Dax Gerringer
Race Engineer
Tim O’Brien
Race Engineer
Billy Curwood
Race Engineer
Adam Cooke
Shock Specialist
Travis Stock
Rear Mechanic
Chris Sherwood
Front Mechanic
Kyle Anderson
Interior Mechanic
James Davis
Tire Specialist
Gregg Huls
Engine Tuner
Ray Erwin
Truck Driver
Jeff Shano
Truck Driver
TEXAS STATS
· Three top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 18 starts
· Completed 6,011 of 6,036 laps (99.6%) and led 85 laps
· One DNF (did not finish) – April 2008
· Average start 15.5 and average finish 13.3
