Dover Race Report

· No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver Clint Bowyer finished fifth and is 10th in points. 
· No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. finished seventh and is sixth in points.
· No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver Mark Martin finished 14th and the No. 55 is 13th in owner points.

Clint Bowyer Race Summary: No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver Clint Bowyer finished fifth in Sunday’s 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway. Bowyer started fourth and raced in the top 10 throughout the race. Just past the halfway mark, Bowyer made a bold move on a restart to climb into second place. The finish marks the Michael Waltrip Racing driver’s second top-five and sixth top-10 finish in 2012. The finish also enabled him to move from 12th to 10th in points. The No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota team returns to action next weekend at Pocono International Raceway testing Wednesday and Thursday then beginning a normal race weekend on Friday.
 
· Started fourth and finished fifth.
· Raced as high as second.
· Moved from 12th to 10th in driver points.
· Second top five finish and sixth top-10 finish of season.

BOWYER QUOTE: What did you think of your finish at Dover? “It was good weekend all in all for our 5-hour ENERGY Toyota. That outside line on the restarts at the end kind of cost us a couple spots. Nobody had anything for the 48 (Jimmie Johnson). We just have to keep digging. We have to keep getting better. This was a great confidence booster for our team -- a young team together and everything else. I’m proud of the guys, proud of the progress that we’ve made. We still have some room to grow.”

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. finished seventh in Sunday’s 400-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway. Truex started 18th at his home track and by the halfway mark, he ran in the top 10. Crew chief Chad Johnston made a series of adjustments throughout the race to help tighten up the NAPA Toyota. Truex's biggest complaint was loose when trying to pass. A 30-lap shootout determined the finish with the NAPA driver claiming his eighth top-10 finish of the season. The result moves Truex to sixth place in the championship standings – 45 points out of the lead. The NAPA team returns to action at Pocono International Raceway testing Wednesday and Thursday then beginning a normal race weekend on Friday.

· Started 18th and finished seventh
· Ran as high as seventh and as low as 18th
· Owns four top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 2012.
· After the race, crew chief Chad Johnston flew back to North Carolina with Truex to be home in time for the birth of his son.
 
TRUEX QUOTES: How was your race at your hometown track? “Oh my goodness, beginning to not like this place so much anymore. It was tough.  Man, we started in the back, and 18th isn’t that far back, but it was tough back there. Track position is huge. We’d get out there by ourselves in clean air and I could run as fast as the leader and the car didn’t drive so bad. Then, I’d catch the next guy ahead of me and I’d get to him and I’d about crash. It was just all I could do to hang on today a couple times. It was just a crazy day. This place is tough. You get in traffic and these cars are so sensitive that you just can’t do anything with them.”
 
Were you able to get your Camry better later in the race? “I would say probably the second half of the race we were really good on the long runs, as long as we could get some clean race track.  There were times when we were faster than the leader. Not the very last run, but the one before that when it went green for a long time, we had dropped back on the restart to 17th or so and by the end of that really long run I think we were back to seventh or eighth. The car was good on the long runs. Chad (Johnston, crew chief) did a good job. We did a good job in the beginning, we made a lot of changes.  Chad did a good job adjusting on it and hanging in there with me. I was yelling at him a little bit and it was tough. It was just one of those long days where you drive your guts out for a top-10.”
 
Mark Martin Race Summary: No.55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver Mark Martin finished 14th in Sunday’s 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway. Martin won the 54th pole of his career and third of the 2012 season on Saturday. When the green flag fell Sunday, Martin dropped to second but grabbed the lead on lap 7 and kept it for the next 23 laps. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver led 43 laps during the race. Late race handling issues kept him from battling for a top-five finish. Martin and the Aaron’s Dream Machine return to action Sunday at Pocono International Raceway. The Pocono schedule also includes testing there Wednesday and Thursday.
 
· Started first and finished 14th
· Won 54th career pole and third of 2012 on Saturday.
· Fell to second at start but took over lead on lap 7 holding it for 23 laps.
· Led 43 laps during the race.

MARTIN QUOTE: Are you satisfied with the way your Camry ran at Dover? “We did run well. I’m proud of the effort by the guys. We had a pretty strong Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota.  We need race cars like that to be a contender. We’ll keep working on it. We’re learning these race cars.  I think it’s one of the best performances that we’ve had. I think we’re making some progress.”

RACE NOTES:
· Jimmie Johnson beat Kevin Harvick to finish line by 2.55 seconds.
· Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five.
· Seven cautions slowed the race for 32 laps.
· Multi-car accident on lap 9 stopped race for 19 minutes.
· Seven leaders traded the lead 17 times.
· Nineteen cars finished on the lead lap.
· NASCAR estimated 85,000 fans in attendance.