• Dialed in with DIRECTV … Bowyer’s No. 07 Chevy will sport a DIRECTV paint scheme this weekend at Richmond International Raceway (RIR). DIRECTV is the nation’s leading digital television service provider and is also the official satellite television service provider of NASCAR. The team’s customary primary sponsor, Jack Daniel’s, will be featured on the car’s lower-rear quarter panels and deck lid.

• RCR at RIR … Richard Childress is tied for fourth with Robert Yates for car owner victories at Richmond with six wins – five with Dale Earnhardt and the most recent coming last fall with Kevin Harvick. Additionally, in 90 starts, RCR boasts 30 top-five and 47 top-10 finishes at the three-quarter mile Virginia oval with nine different drivers including Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Mike Skinner, Harvick, Robby Gordon, Jeff Green, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer. Childress, a former driver on NASCAR’s senior circuit, contributed three of those top 10s from 1976-1978.

• Bowyer in the Loop …

o Steady as She Goes … In two NEXTEL Cup starts at Richmond, Bowyer has an average start of 18 and an 11th-place finishing average. The Emporia, Kan., driver has completed all 800 laps contested over those two starts and has earned $175,000.

o Strong Sophomore Start … In the season’s first nine races, Bowyer has earned three top 10s and has only finished outside the top 25 twice. He currently holds a 16.2 starting average and a 17.6 finishing average. The 27-year-old driver has completed 2,811 of the 2,886 total laps run this season (97.4 percent) and is 11th in points. Over those same nine races last season, Bowyer’s average start was 23.2 coupled with a 19.7 finishing average. He was 18th in points at this time last year.

o Since We’re Talking Stats … Bowyer is ranked 11th in NASCAR’s Average Running Position category (16.2) and is currently the sport’s ninth best Closer – a statistic derived from the number of positions improved over the last 10 percent of each race. Bowyer has gained an average of 1.889 spots over the season’s first nine races and has improved a total 17 positions over the closing 10 percent of those same races. He is 11th in the Driver Rating category (82.9). The Driver Rating is a formula that combines the following categories: wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum points a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The Driver Rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.

• Testing One, Two, Three Testing … Bowyer and the DIRECTV racing team tested a RIR April 3-4 in preparation for this weekend’s Crown Royal 400. Unofficially, Bowyer and company posted a fast lap of 22.059 seconds (122.399 mph) on April 3. The test was the fourth of seven allowed under NASCAR’s 2007 testing policy. The remaining tests available to teams in NASCAR’s top division will be conducted at Lowe’s Motor Speedway May 7-8, at Dover International Speedway May 14-15 and at Talladega Superspeedway September 10-11.

• Knowledge is Power … Bowyer and his Gil Martin-led team also tested the Car of Tomorrow (COT) at South Georgia Motorsports Park – a half-mile oval located in Cecil, Ga. – on April 30 to gather additional data heading into this weekend and to continue fine-tuning RCR’s COT program.

• Meet the Press … Bowyer will be available behind the No. 07 transporter Friday, May 4 at 1:15 p.m. to field questions from the gathered media.

• Double Duty at the Action Track … In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the DIRECTV Chevrolet, Bowyer returns to the seat of the No. 2 BB&T Chevy for this weekend’s Busch Series event at RIR. The Circuit City 250 will be televised live on ESPN2 on Friday, May 4 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The race will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying will be televised the same day on SPEED beginning at 4 p.m. EDT.

• Catch the Action … The Crown Royal 400 from Richmond International Raceway will be televised live on FOX on Saturday, May 5 at beginning at 7 p.m. EDT. The race will also be broadcast live on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for 10th race on the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series schedule will be televised live on SPEED Friday, May 4 at 6 p.m. EDT.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES

You finished 10th and 12th in your first two Cup races at Richmond. That’s pretty good for a guy who doesn’t consider himself to be the best short-track racer.

“Don’t get me wrong, we’ve run very well on the short tracks, especially this year at Bristol and Richmond. But, in the last 10 races last year and the first five this year, we’ve run really strong on the big tracks. I think I’ve learned a lot about those types of tracks and (crew chief) Gil (Martin) has prepared great cars. We had a great car, my favorite car actually, until I wrecked it at Las Vegas. Thank God the boys built me another one just like it for Atlanta and Texas. Gil told me it would feel the same and he was exactly right.”

What is it about Richmond that makes everyone like it so much? You never really hear anyone complain about Richmond.

“It’s the perfect race track. Richmond is the perfect size, it’s a lot of fun to race on from a driver’s standpoint and it puts on a good show. When it’s a good show for the fans, it’s a fun race. Nobody likes racing single-file and running around by themselves all day long. At Richmond, you’re always in traffic and you’re able to race on the bottom or the top or wherever you can make your car work the best. You can do so many different things at that track to make your car better until you get a chance to change it during a pit stop. That’s what makes it so much fun for a driver.”

Is turn two at Richmond the number one area for potential trouble?

I think so. You just kind of run out of room over there but it’s the same for everybody. You know going into turn one that turn two is where you have to get the car straightened up to get a good drive off. All of that makes for a really good race and makes it a lot of fun.”