| | | | | | NO MORE...PLEASE? | Bowyer looking to avoid
past bad luck at Talladega | |
| | By SceneDaily Staff Clint Bowyer and Talladega Superspeedway haven't exactly agreed with each other. In four Cup series starts at the 2.66-mile track, Bowyer has a best finish of 11th and three finishes of 35th or worse.
The last time the Cup series raced at Talladega, the Richard Childress Racing driver took a cautious approach for 500 miles and avoided the trouble that has plagued him previously.
“We had a fast car,” Bowyer said. “We’ve always run well at Talladega and Daytona. We played it pretty conservative last fall because up until that point, we were very unlucky down there.”
He’s right. Bowyer crashed in his first two races and didn’t finish, and then was 35th last April. Suffice to say Bowyer is still refining his
restrictor-plate technique and hopes to be better in this weekend’s Aaron’s 499.
“You have to position yourself to be able to go for the win, but that’s a gamble, too,” Bowyer said. “Sometimes you get shuffled out going for the win. You can be running second and go to pass the leader, and if no one goes with you, you’re going back to 10th or 11th in a big hurry.
“There is a big risk-versus-reward factor at restrictor-plate races. Going to the front or getting shuffled out is the reward of winning the race or the downfall of trying to win.”
There’s a lot of pressure on drivers, trying to find the right line and be in the right position at the end of the race. But it makes it fun for fans, Bowyer said.
“You can be running third and get a good run and think you’re going to go for the win on the last lap going down the back straightaway and end up 20th,” Bowyer said. “That’s just the way those races are, but that’s what makes them fun to watch.”
Most races at Talladega are fun to watch, but many fans didn’t like last October’s event as many drivers raced conservatively in what was the first outing of the so-called car of tomorrow on a superspeedway.
“Well, I think that had a lot to do with the character of the tire, and you can’t forget, last year was the first restrictor-plate race with the new generation car,” Bowyer said. “Honestly, it was pretty uneventful running around for 400 miles, single-file up around the top of the race track. You do that all day, and then you get down to the last 20 or so laps and have to get yourself back in the mindset to go racing.”
| | Posted April 25, 2008 , 4:28 pm EST
Last Updated April 25, 2008 , 4:32 pm EST | | | | | | | | | | |
