BIG ONE #2 with 4 laps to go, AJ Allmendinger tried to block Denny Hamlin, wrecking Paul Mendard, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Michael Waltrip, and others….but that’s Talladega!
Clint Bowyer has several reasons to be excited about racing at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Bowyer finished second in last year’s Aaron’s 499 and won the track’s fall race in 2011. He’s also fighting to a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ having just missed qualifying for NASCAR’s post season a year ago. Bowyer, 12th in the standings but just 14 points out of 10th-place, left Richard Childress Racing at season’s end and bids to carry his Talladega success to Michael Waltrip Racing. Teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Michael Waltrip logged top-10 finishes in last year’s fall race. MWR has a single top-five finish at Talladega: David Reutimann’s fourth in the fall of 2010.
PHOTO CREDIT: NASCARMEDIA (USED WITH PERMISSION)
Kansas No Place Like Home For Bowyer, Edwards, McMurray
Three marquee drivers return home to the Midwest this weekend.
Clint Bowyer (Emporia, Kan.), Carl Edwards (Columbia, Mo.) and Jamie McMurray (Joplin, Mo.) consider Kansas Speedway their home track and yearn for a win at the 1.5-mile track.
None have a win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but Edwards and Bowyer each have one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Edwards’ came in 2004; Bowyer won last year.
Bowyer’s best NSCS finish was a runner-up result in 2007. Edwards, likewise, had a runner-up finish in 2008. McMurray’s best Kansas run came in 2004, when he finished seventh.
Mikey Likes It
Michael Waltrip Racing still has three drivers in the top 10 in owner points and two in the top nine in the driver standings. Martin Truex Jr. is one of four drivers with four top-10 finishes, along with Biffle, Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson.
Truex’s surge shouldn’t surprise many. The New Jersey native finished the 2011 season with five top 10s in the last six races.
PHOTO CREDIT: NASCARMEDIA
CLINT BOWYER
No. 15 5-hour ENERGY® TOYOTA
TEST: WALT DISNEY WORLD SPEEDWAY
CORNELIUS, N.C. — The Daytona 500 is about 75 days away, but Michael Waltrip Racing’s new No. 15 5-hour ENERGY team is ready to hit the track this week in preparation for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. New driver Clint Bowyer and crew chief Brian Pattie will visit Walt Disney World Speedway in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. to test the No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It marks the first test for the new driver-crew chief combination. The test also begins a busy off season for the team that will test at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway and Daytona International Speedway in January.
NASCAR News Wire The Final Lap Podcast
