Bowyer Wins In Overtime
By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 3, 2009) - With cars spinning wildly behind him in Turn 4, Clint Bowyer claimed his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory of the season and the seventh of his career in Friday night's Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

Bowyer also delivered the first victory of the season for beleaguered Richard Childress Racing, which has suffered cutbacks from Chevrolet in the wake of General Motors' reorganization under bankruptcy.

Bowyer had just taken the white flag during an attempt at a green-white-checkered finish that took the race two laps past its scheduled 100 laps when a six-car wreck froze the field under caution and made a winner of the 2008 series champion, who is running a partial schedule this year.

Kyle Busch was second when the yellow flew and extended his lead in the series standings to 172 points over third-place finisher Carl Edwards. Joey Logano, Busch's teammate, came home fourth, with Kasey Kahne in fifth.

Brad Keselowski, Brian Vickers, rookie Justin Allgaier, David Ragan and Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.

Bowyer was ecstatic to record his first win at the 2.5-mile restrictor-plate racetrack.

"I can't begin to tell you what this place means to me, my family," Bowyer said in victory lane. "Everything you ever work for is to come to Daytona, let alone win a race here… The wolves were coming, and (crew chief) Doug (Randolph) made a good call to stay out and not take tires.

"The 18, Kyle gave me a good push right there at the end. Luckily, the caution came out. Who knows what would have happened in that last lap… It's been tough this year. It's been tough on him (Childress). It's been tough on everybody. I'm real proud of everybody at RCR and ECR (Earnhardt-Childress Racing), the engine program -- this is pretty special."

A wreck on Lap 58 knocked Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the race. Contact from Chase Austin's Chevrolet turned the Dodge of Patrick Sheltra into the outside wall just beyond the exit of Turn 2. Steve Wallace spun while taking evasive action and clobbered Earnhardt's Chevrolet.

"Everybody had blistered their tires on the last run, and I was going to try and sit back and save my tires," Earnhardt said, after bringing his car to the garage. "Guys got together, and it was real, real tight off of (Turn 2). Somebody had to check up, and it caused the crash. It was bound to happen -- everybody's car was driving about the same."

During pit stops under the caution for the wreck, Michael Waltrip, who had come to pit road as the leader, saw his winning chances disappear.

Exiting the pit box, Waltrip's Toyota collided with Mark Green's Chevy, caving in the right side of Waltrip's car. Nevertheless, Waltrip salvaged an 11th-place finish.

Notes: Strong all night, Bowyer led a race-high 48 laps. … Friday's race was the NASCAR Nationwide Series' first use of the double-file restart with lead-lap cars taking the green flag side-by side. … Kerry Earnhardt and Austin escaped injury during a wreck on Lap 77, but both were treated in the infield care center for heat-related issues.

Unofficial Race Results click here

Unofficial Driver Point Standings click here

Fast Facts

The Race: Subway Jalapeño 250 powered by Coca-Cola
The Place: Daytona International Speedway
The Date: Friday, July 3
The Time: 9:00 p.m. AT
The Distance: 250 miles / 100 laps
TV: ESPN, 8:30 p.m. AT
Radio: Sirius NASCAR Radio/MRN
2008 Race Winner: Denny Hamlin
2008 Polesitter: Bryan Clauson
Event Schedule (all times ET): Thursday—Practice 2-3:50 p.m. Final Practice—5:30-6:25 p.m. Friday—Qualifying 1:05 p.m.
Year-To-Date Results & Standings: click here

Starting Lineup

Complete Starting Lineup click here Track Map

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Event Preview

• Double-File Fireworks At Daytona For NNS...It’s appropriate that a format change as exciting as this one makes its NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Daytona International Speedway on July 4 weekend. “Double-File Restarts — Shootout Style” are sure to create a display as electrifying as the annual post-race fireworks extravaganza. Beginning Friday night and throughout each race, the first- and second-place cars will line up side-by-side as the green flag is waved on each restart. Double-file restarts were introduced in May at the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and the change was fully instituted June 7 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Pocono Raceway. Under the previous format, lead-lap cars restarted in a single-file line while lapped cars would start in a line next to them. “Since NASCAR made the decision to implement the double-file restarts in Sprint Cup, it’s been a huge hit with fans and competitors alike,” said DIS president Robin Braig. “Race fans have seen first-hand the thrilling racing that double-file restarts produce at Daytona in the Bud Shootout, and we’re glad to see the format instituted in the NASCAR Nationwide Series beginning with the Subway Jalapeño 250.” NASCAR officials chose to gauge the format on various configurations before instituting double-file restarts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The format in NASCAR Nationwide will be the same as in NASCAR Sprint Cup where the race leader has the option to restart on the inside or outside lane. The second-place car then restarts next to the leader. Regardless of the leader’s starting position, cars in odd-number positions (3rd, 5th, 7th places, etc.) will restart on the inside lane, while those in even-number positions (4th, 6th, 8th places, etc.) will restart on the outside. All restarts will use the same format regardless of the number of laps remaining in the race. Also, the “free pass” will remain in effect the entire race instead of being eliminated with 10 or fewer laps to go in the event. "Double-file restarts in Cup have proven to be exciting for the fans as well as the drivers and I'm looking forward to this being implemented on our series,” said Jason Keller (No. 27 Scott Products/Walmart Ford). “Starting double file rewards drivers that have raced hard to be in the back half of the top 10 to race for position without having to contend with lapped traffic. "The wave-around (lapped cars passing the caution car to take their respective positions on the track and picking up a lap on the leader providing he also pits) will take some getting used to and brings some additional strategy into play. A big track like Daytona with plenty of room to sort things out is definitely a good place to implement this new format and get some of the kinks out."
• NASCAR Nationwide Season Shifts Into Second Half...In February, as Tony Stewart crossed the Daytona finish line .068 seconds ahead of 2007 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Carl Edwards (No. 60 Save-a-Lot Ford) and reigning title-holder Clint Bowyer (No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet), the frenetic tone was set for the 2009 season: The competition continues to showcase trademark NASCAR Nationwide Series racing. Ten of the first 16 races have had finishes of less than one second, while seven have been under a half-second. Ten different winners and nine different pole winners. Kyle Busch (No. 18 NOS Toyota), the standings leader, has five wins while his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano (No. 20 SportClips Toyota) has two. David Ragan (No. 6 Discount Tire Ford) won his first career race at Talladega Superspeedway while two-time series champion Kevin Harvick (No. 33 VFW Chevrolet) won for the first time in his own equipment at Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards, second in the standings, leads the series in poles with four, tying his career high. Two series-only regulars have posted wins – Brad Keselowski (No. 88 Klondike Chevrolet) and Mike Bliss (No. 1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet) – and they did so in consecutive races. Keselowski (third) leads seven series-only regulars who are ranked in the top 10 while the 2009 rookie class is one of the strongest in history — two are currently ranked in the top 10. The second half of the year will be highlighted by five remaining stand-alone events beginning July 18 at Gateway International Raceway; the inaugural series race — and the third of four “Dash 4 Cash” events — Aug. 1 at Iowa Speedway, the road-course race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal Aug. 30 and the crowning of the 2009 series champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 21.
• Restrictor-Plate Specialists Get One Last Chance...If the first two events of the season are any indication, the final restrictor-plate race of the year for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Friday night at Daytona should be a memorable one. The 2009 season-opener at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, won by Tony Stewart, was determined by less than a second. Who can forget Kyle Busch dogging Stewart through Turn 4 — would they wreck or not? At Talladega in April, David Ragan took advantage of a last-lap frontstretch scuffle between Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 5 Fastenal Chevrolet) and Ryan Newman — along with a friendly push from Joey Logano — to win his first career race by .030 seconds. Earnhardt Jr., the 1998-99 series champion, has two wins in this event. Kerry Earnhardt (No. 31 LibertyPort.com Chevrolet) is back at Daytona for the first time since last year when he finished 17th in this race. Mike Wallace (No. 0 JD-Motorsports Chevrolet) won in a wild finish in 2004; Joe Nemechek (No. 87 NEMCO Chevrolet), the 1992 series champion, won in 2002 and also leads all drivers with five poles at DIS. Some would now argue Brad Keselowski falls into the “specialist” category thanks to his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win at Talladega the day after Ragan’s NASCAR Nationwide victory. Additionally, Michael Waltrip (No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota), the two-time Daytona 500 winner, is also entered. He has three NASCAR Nationwide poles at Daytona, second to Nemechek.
• Leffler Looks For Fewer Fireworks This Time Around At Daytona...Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota) has probably had this race circled on his calander for a while. Back in February at the season-opener, Leffler was running 16th when he tangled with Steve Wallace (No. 66 USFidelis Chevrolet) in between Turns 3 and 4. Leffler was held five laps by NASCAR for aggressive driving. In 11 career series races at Daytona, Leffler had completed every lap but two before sitting out those five. And he’s finsihed every lap this year — again, except those five. His resulting 33rd-place finish stands as his worst of the year. Since then, he’s logged 12 top-10 finishes — 11 consecutive — along with three top fives including two runner-up finishes. Leffler is currently fourth in the standings and needs a solid finish to whittle into the 158-point advantage third-place Brad Keselowski holds over him. Wallace, meanwhile, recovered nicely and is now a career-best ninth in the top-10 rankings.
• Bown, Carelli Ready For West Coast Stock Car Hall Of Fame Induction...Chuck Bown, the 1990 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, will be among 10 new members inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. Ceremonies are set for Friday, July 3 at Irwindale Speedway. Also included in Bown’s class is Rick Carelli, who now serves as general manager of Kevin Harvick, Inc. Bown, a native of Portland, Ore., won three races in the NASCAR Camping World Series West before heading across country and winning the NASCAR North Series title. Carelli, from Denver, Colo., won the NASCAR Southwest Tour title in 1991 and the NASCAR Camping World Series West championship in 1993.
• Baker Curb Salutes Golden Anniversary Of The King’s 200th Win...Jason Keller’s No. 27 Ford will carry the familiar “Grabber Blue” and “Orange Neon” color scheme Friday night at Daytona to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Richard Petty’s 200th — and final — win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Keller’s current team co-owner, Mike Curb, was the owner of Petty’s famous No. 43 STP Pontiac for that win. Keller finished ninth at Daytona in February and is the lone series-only regular among four drivers — Keller, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan and Kyle Busch — to finish in the top 10 in both superspeedway races this year.

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.