Sunday, Sept. 16 New Hampshire Int'l Speedway Loudon, NH

Clint Bowyer celebrates with his team after winning the Sylvania 300. Bowyer had to walk to Victory Lane after blowing the engine during burnout celebrations after his first series win...

Bowyer Scores First Career Victory

LOUDON, N. H. (September 16, 2007) - Clint Bowyer, one of the nicest guys in NASCAR, won his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race Sunday before a standing-room only crowd at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Bowyer did it in convincing fashion. Starting from the pole position, the Kansas City native led more than two-thirds of the 300-lap distance to grab the first Cup win of his career.

Sunday's race was the first of 10 in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and it is the first time Bowyer qualified for the 12-car field.

Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon was second and two-time champion Tony Stewart was third.

Kyle Busch was fourth while two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr. was fifth.

Rounding out the top 10 were Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Casey Mears, Ryan Newman and J. J. Yeley.

Bowyer's victory was the high point for Richard Childress Racing. His Jack Daniels-sponsored Chevrolet was the class of the field while teammates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton struggled.

The Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup couldn't have started on a more perfect, sun-splashed New England day. It was cool enough to remind everyone that "Ole Man Winter" is right around the corner.

A driver who knows what cold winters are like proved his pole position was no fluke.

Native Kansan Bowyer, who cut his racing teeth on dirt tracks throughout the Midwest, was fast from the get-go.

Bowyer led every lap prior to the mandatory competition caution at 35 laps. He also won the race off pit road.

Ward Burton spun on the 67th lap to bring out another caution and Stewart's crew put him in the lead with a lightning pit stop.

Bowyer, however, drove from fourth to first by lap 112. The race was turning into a six-car battle between Bowyer, Stewart, Gordon, Johnson, Newman, Kenseth and Earnhardt.

Other Chase contenders seemed to be out of the running as far as winning this event was concerned.

Kurt Busch showed some early speed but engine problems kept him from contending.

Complete race results and point standings in the Event Stats section following... Checkered Flag Fast Facts

• Clint Bowyer won the Sylvania 300, his first victory in 64 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.
• This is his 13th top-10 finish in 2007.
• Bowyer became the fourth first-time race winner this season, joining Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya.
• Bowyer became the 18th driver to post victories in all three of NASCAR’s top series.
• This is his first top-10 finish in four races at New Hampshire International Speedway.
• Jeff Gordon (second) posted his16th top-five finish of 2007 and his 15th top-10 finish in 26 races at New Hampshire.
• Tony Stewart (third) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 18 races at New Hampshire.
• David Ragan (19th) was the highest finishing rookie.
• Jimmie Johnson is tied with Jeff Gordon in championship points, both with 5,210 points, Johnson holds the number one position based on the tiebreaker of six wins to Gordon’s four.
• This is the fourth straight time that the first Chase race has been won by a Chase driver.

Broadcast Times

Qualifying: Friday, September 14 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 4 p.m./AT, 5 p.m./ET)

Final Practice: Saturday, September 15 (ESPN2 at 8 p.m./AT, 7 p.m./ET)

RaceDay: Sunday, September 16 (SPEED at 1 p.m./AT, 2 p.m./ET)

Countdown to Green: Sunday, September 16 (ABC & TSN-HD at 2 p.m./AT, 1 p.m./ET)

Race: Sunday, September 16 (ABC & TSN-HD at 3 p.m./AT, 2 p.m./ET)

Event Stats PDF files unless otherwise noted

Entry List

Qualifying Results

Starting Lineup

Race Results

Point Standings Qualifying Notes

• Clint Bowyer won the Bud Pole for the Sylvania 300 with a lap of 29.206 seconds, 130.412 mph.
• This is his second Bud Pole in 27 career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races.
• This is his second Bud Pole and eighth top-10 start in 2007.
• This is Bowyer’s first start better than 24th in four races at New Hampshire International Speedway.
• Martin Truex Jr. posted the second-fastest qualifying time with a lap of 29.241 seconds, 130.255 mph. Truex has posted top-10 starts in three of his four New Hampshire races.
• Kurt Busch (third) posted his eight top-10 start in 14 New Hampshire races.
• Six of the 12 Chase drivers qualified in the top 10: Bowyer, Truex, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson (fourth), Tony Stewart (sixth) and Kevin Harvick (eighth).
• Dave Blaney (10th) was the fastest of the drivers required to make the field on time.
• Paul Menard (17th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
• Drivers that failed to qualify for this event: Dale Jarrett, Sam Hornish Jr., Jeremy Mayfield, Michael Waltrip, Kevin Lepage and John Andretti.

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: Sylvania 300
The Place: New Hampshire International Speedway
The Date: Sunday, Sept. 16
The Track: 1.058-mile oval
The Distance: 300 laps/317 miles
The Purse: $5,319,880
2006 Winner: Kevin Harvick
2006 Pole: Kevin Harvick
Pre-Race Schedule (local/ET time): Friday—Practice, 12-1:30 p.m.; Qualifying, 3:10 p.m. Saturday–Practice, 9-9:50 a.m.; 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Season To-Date Results & Point Standings: click here

Track Map



Keys to Winning...

New Hampshire International Speedway leads off the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Sunday’s race marks the second time for the Car of Tomorrow to be featured at this 1.058-mile oval. Denny Hamlin won here in the new car back on July 1, holding off Jeff Gordon by .068 of a second. Some things for the drivers to consider:

• For the Chase drivers, get off to a good start: If you’re a Chase driver, it’s important for you to have a solid performance and come out of this race still in the hunt.
• Pit Stops: With a 300-lap race, teams must think ahead, reserving final adjustments for their final stop. Track position is too crucial to forfeit in the closing laps.
• Qualifying: A good qualifying position is important at New Hampshire.
• Braking: maneuvering through the corners means more speed and less worries. Going in too loose and wide means scraping walls.

Green Flag Notes...

The field is set. The stakes are high. Ten races; 12 drivers competing for one prize: The 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship.

This year’s lineup for the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup could very well deliver the most wide open and competitive championship race in recent memory. Consider these top-line stories:

• Defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) is the top seed in the Chase with 5,060 points. Johnson’s season-best sixth win came last Saturday night at Richmond and was also his second straight victory. Johnson took advantage of the revision to the Chase format with the additional emphasis on winning over the first 26 races, racking up 60 bonus points, or 10 points per win. Johnson attempts to become the first driver since Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet - 1997-98) to repeat as series champion.
• Gordon, the second seed in the Chase, seeks his fifth series championship. Only Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt (both with seven) have won more series championships than Gordon. In a season that has seen him as a poster boy for consistency with four wins, 15 top fives, and 21 top 10s, Gordon led the point standings for 22 straight weeks this year. He is scheduled to start his 500th consecutive NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race on Sunday at New Hampshire, the longest active streak on the circuit. Gordon’s first career start came in the 1992 series finale at Atlanta (Richard Petty’s final race) and he hasn’t missed a race since.
• Four of the top-five seeds have won series championships, including Gordon (1995, ‘97-98, 2001); Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet – 2002, 05); Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge – 2004); and Johnson (2006). Stewart and Kurt Busch both return to the Chase field following a year’s absence in 2006.
• There are two first-year participants in the Chase – Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) and Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet). Truex won his first career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race earlier this year at Dover and his performance (one win, five top fives, 10 top 10s) has overshadowed that of his more recognizable DEI teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet), who is 13th in points and did not qualify for this year’s Chase. Bowyer is the lone Chase participant without a victory on the season, but he has been in the top 12 for 22 straight weeks and is the only Chase driver without a DNF through the first 26 races.

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