A Great Tasting Mouthful of Bricks
CORNELIUS, N. C. – Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a track steeped in tradition. The track officially opened in June 1909 with balloon races followed by motorcycle and automobile races later that year. A stamp cost two cents, a gallon of gas six cents and Yale University was the NCAA champion in football at that time.
Needless to say a lot has changed since then but some things have remained the same. In 1994 NASCAR Sprint Cup cars first made an appearance at the track. Two years later Dale Jarrett won and the story goes that a new tradition was born– kissing the yard of bricks at the start/finish line.
Clint Bowyer and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to the historic track this weekend. Bowyer has two top-five finishes in nine races and has completed every lap at the 2.5-mile track. And while his No. 15 Toyota sports the new “great tasting” 5-hour ENERGY colors, he would love nothing more than to have a not-so-great-tasting mouthful of bricks Sunday evening.
What do you think it’s going to be like this weekend with the new rules package?
“I’m actually looking forward to going to Indy this weekend. I think there are some unknowns for everyone including the drivers and that should make for some good racing which I think the fans will like. I think we went a step in the right direction with Kentucky. You saw some good side-by-side racing and I think we will have that again this weekend. It’s a good opportunity for this 5-hour ENERGY team. Boy, I sure would love to kiss some bricks this weekend.”
How do you approach the next few races with you on the Chase bubble?
“We have to just keep getting after it. If we have a chance for the win then we need to take it but the points are so close you can’t do something stupid and take yourself out of it that way too.”
Crew Chief Billy Scott:
What do you think it’s going to be like this weekend with the new rules?
“You know, honestly I’m not sure. There’s been very little testing so that’s why I say that. I think it’s a step in the right direction. It will bring everyone to somewhat of a level playing field. I think it will bring cars closer together and hopefully easier to pass but how much I’m not sure. Not everyone will be out there running together in practice like we do during the race so I think you could see what happens in practice different than what happens during the race. It’s going to be a busy weekend for all of the crew guys, making changes, getting things ready in between practices with all the unknowns but it’s Indy. It’s one of our sports biggest races and it would be pretty special to get our 5-hour ENERGY Toyota in victory lane there.”
NO. 15 CREW ROSTER
Billy Scott
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
Joe Bisson
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
INDIANAPOLIS STATS
· Two top-five and two top-10 finishes in nine starts
· Completed 1,440 of 1,440 laps (100%) and led 6 laps
· Average start 19.6 and average finish 13.6
· No DNFs (Did Not Finish)
Snap an awesome travel photo showing where 5-hour ENERGY® takes you and enter the 5-hour ENERGY® Photo Contest! #My5hourTravel -http://woobox.com/763wrv