Event/Date: LifeLock.com 400 – July 11, 2009
Venue: Chicagoland Speedway – Joliet, Ill.

NOTES:

· This Week’s Cheerios Chevrolet at Chicagoland Speedway … Clint Bowyer will pilot Chassis No. 264 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for 2009, this Chevrolet debuted at Phoenix in April where Bowyer recorded a 26th-place finish. Bowyer most recently raced this Impala SS to a 10th-place finish at Michigan in June.

· Stat Facts …

Chicago Facts … In three NSCS starts at Chicagoland Speedway, Bowyer has two top-10 finishes. Additionally, the 30-year-old driver has an average starting position of 18.3, an average finish of 13.7, and has completed 100 percent of the laps contested (804 of 804) at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.
Rearview Mirror … Clint Bowyer had a strong Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet last Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, one that he felt was capable of contending for the win. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for the No. 33 team as Bowyer could not avoid the inevitable “big one” that eliminated him from contention prematurely, resulting in a 29th-place finish.
Get to the Points … Bowyer enters Chicago 16th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point standings. With eight races remaining before the Chase for the Sprint Cup kicks off in September at NHMS, Bowyer sits 135 markers behind 12th-place point man Kasey Kahne and 204 behind seventh-place Ryan Newman. The top 12 in the Sprint Cup Series points following the September 12 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway are locked into NASCAR’s 12-team Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff field.
Halfway Through 2009 … Last weekend’s Coke Zero 400 marked the halfway point of the 2009 NSCS schedule. Over the season’s first 18 races, Bowyer has accumulated three top-five and six top-10 finishes, an average start of 19.1 and an average finish of 17.6. The two-time NSCS winner has led 16 laps of competition and has completed 4,863 of the 5,194 (93.6 percent) laps contested thus far.
Former Winner … While Bowyer has not yet won at Chicagoland Speedway, his crew chief Shane Wilson has visited Victory Lane there once before. Calling the shots for Kevin Harvick in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Wilson was the winning crew chief of the 2007 USG Durock 300.
RCR at Chicago … Richard Childress is second for most NSCS car owner victories at Chicagoland Speedway with two. Bowyer’s teammate Harvick scored back-to-back wins for RCR in the 2001-2002 Tropicana 400. In 24 starts at the 1.5-mile suburban Chicago tri-oval, Childress also boasts six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes with eight different drivers including Dave Blaney, Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Robby Gordon, Jeff Green, Harvick, Steve Park and Mike Skinner.
Chicago Rewind … Bowyer weathered a stormy weekend to finish 22nd in the 2008 LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Handling-related issues and changing track conditions plagued Bowyer for the bulk of the weekend.
The Collective RCR … In 18 races this season, RCR-prepared Sprint Cup Series entries have notched seven top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. The No. 29 team kicked off the 2009 season with a win in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. RCR-prepared cars have also completed 20,097 laps with four different drivers including Burton, Bowyer, Harvick and Casey Mears. Meanwhile, RCR teams have been atop the leaderboard for 97 laps and all four teams have earned just shy of $11 million combined purse money in 2009.
Different Colors … Bowyer’s No. 33 Chevrolet will sport a “heart healthy” paint scheme similar to the one ran at Michigan in June, but this time around it will feature the first and last names of 3,300 lucky fans who were selected from Cheerios’ online sweepstakes to have their name appear on Bowyer’s No. 33 Chevrolet. The paint scheme concludes Cheerios’ four week campaign with Richard Childress encouraging race fans to take care of their heart. Fans can still visit CheeriosRacing.com to sign up and get $4 in coupons from Cheerios.
Fire Up the Team, Fire Up the Grill … General Mills has teamed up with Clorox® and Coca-Cola® to kick off an online sweepstakes where one lucky winner will win a Grand Prize trip for two to watch the big race in Concord, N.C. on October 17, 2009. The trip includes roundtrip airfare for two from the major airport nearest to the winner’s home to Charlotte, one double occupancy hotel room for two nights, $500 cash, two tickets to the General Mills suite, and a meet and greet with driver Clint Bowyer. Enter today for your chance to win at www.SummerGrillingMadeSimple.com
Mark Your Calendars … In honor of its 40th anniversary, RCR will host a Fan Day at the Welcome, N.C. complex on Thursday, Oct. 22 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Activities include driver and pit crew autograph sessions, self-guided tours of RCR’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide as well as ECR’s engine shop, radio remotes, musical entertainment, pit crew competition, viewing of the DALE movie, question-and-answer session with team owner Richard Childress and much more. General admission to RCR’s Fan Day is just $5, which will benefit the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma.
Catch the Action … The LifeLock.com 400 from Chicagoland Speedway will take the green flag Saturday, July 11 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Race coverage will be televised live on TNT beginning at 6:30 p.m. EDT and broadcast worldwide on MRN and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 19th race on the 2009 NSCS schedule will be televised live on SPEED Thursday, July 9 at 8:30 p.m. EDT.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTES:

You have a couple of top-10 finishes in your first two starts, but a 22nd-place finish the last time out.
“You know, they say that Chicago is supposed to be just like Kansas. But, I’ve always run a lot better at Kansas than I have at Chicago. We always use the race at Chicago as a learning spot or a test session for Kansas because that race is always a big deal to me since I’m from there. We’ve got to put more of an emphasis on Chicago this time around. We have to run better there.”

The back straightaway at Chicago isn’t a straighaway at all. When they take a straight on shot from the television cameras, it shows that. Are you turning the entire way down the backstretch?
“Yeah, but you don’t’ really notice it because the frontstretch is so bent. It’s a neat race track. It’s funny because I am so fond of Kansas and Chicago is nearly identical to it – from the motorhome lot, to the bathrooms, to the pits. Everything is in exactly the same location.”

What about the speed at Chicago and Kansas?
“We carry a lot of speed at those race tracks. You have to have your car neutral to free to drive straight up off the corners. The guy who can keep his car lower longer is the guy who is probably going to prevail.”

Has that track gotten better over time?
“I think the groove has widened out over time without a doubt. But, the race is still won or lost on the bottom.”