Kentucky Race Report

· No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver Clint Bowyer finished 16th and is seventh in the standings.
· No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. finished eighth and is eighth in the
  standings.
· No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine/University of Kentucky Toyota driver Michael Waltrip finished 30th.
 
Clint Bowyer Race Summary: No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota driver Clint Bowyer finished 16th in Saturday night’s 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway. Last week’s race winner at Sonoma started sixth and never left the top-five in the first half of the 267-lap race. But his chances for back-to-back victories evaporated with about 100 laps to go when Joey Logano’s car made contact with Bowyer’s front fender. Bowyer lost two laps when he pitted to repair the damage. The Michael Waltrip Racing team used a free pass and timely caution late in the race to return to the lead lap. The No. 15 team rallied to finish 16th. Bowyer returns to action Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.  

· Started sixth and finished 16th
· Raced in the top-five during the first half of the race
· Fell two laps down after unscheduled pit stop on lap 167 to repair front fender after contact with
  Joey Logano.
· Returned to the lead lap on lap 210 after receiving the free pass
· Raced from 19th to 16th in the closing laps

BOWYER: “We had a great 5-hour ENERGY Toyota in the beginning – I mean a great car. We were never outside of the top-five it seemed early in the race. We got run into just past the half-way point and it caused quite a bit of damage and an unscheduled pit stop that put us pretty far behind. Luckily we caught a caution at the right time and got both laps back at once. We made the best of a bad situation tonight and minimized the damage the best we could. We’ll take it and move on to Daytona.
 
Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. finished eighth in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway. Truex started 10th and raced just outside the top five for the first half of the 267-lap event. To contend for the top spot, crew chief Chad Johnston worked to loosen up the NAPA Toyota off the corners with air pressure adjustments. The Michael Waltrip team used good fuel strategy in the closing laps to keep Truex at the front of the field and secure the eighth-place finish while other front runners pitted for fuel in the final laps. Truex scored his ninth top-10 finish of the year and moved to eighth in the standings. The NAPA AUTO PARTS team returns to action Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.

· Started tenth and finished eighth.
· Battled loose in and tight off the corner conditions
· Ran as high as fifth and as low as 10th throughout green-flag sequences
· Owns four top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 2012
 
TRUEX: "It was a tough race tonight that’s for sure. Everyone worked really hard for this top-10 finish. We were at the front most of the night, but the NAPA Toyota pushed like hell all night and we could never fix it like we wanted it to have a chance to win. Tonight was a big improvement from last year so I am happy about that. Time to move on and hope for the best at Daytona."

Michael Waltrip Race Summary: No.55 Aaron’s Dream Machine/University of Kentucky Toyota driver Michael Waltrip finished 30th in Saturday night’s 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway. It marked the two-time Daytona 500 and Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame member’s first Sprint Cup race in his home state. The Owensboro native started 39th in the Aaron’s paint scheme that paid tribute to the University of Kentucky’s NCAA championship basketball team. Waltrip stayed on the lead lap until lap 36 when he barely missed earning an Aaron’s Lucky Dog free pass. The No. 55 persevered throughout the race despite not hearing Waltrip because of a radio malfunction. The No. 55 also overcame a late race flat tire that forced a green flag stop. Waltrip will drive the No. 55 Aaron’s “Christmas in July” Toyota at Daytona on Saturday night.

· Started 39th and finished 30th
· Marked first Sprint Cup race in home state.
· Aaron’s paint scheme honored University of Kentucky’s NCAA championship basketball team.
· Lost lap to leaders on lap 36 and suffered a late race flat tire that left team three laps behind
  leaders.
· Team ran entire race without communication from the car because of a radio malfunction.

WALTRIP: "I was too nervous to really enjoy the pace laps, but racing here in Kentucky in front of these fans was an awesome experience. I was just too worried about running bad. We took off and run pretty decent. I just know that our team builds really good race cars. That's a good feeling car right there and I'm proud of my team. This weekend was fun. The crowd was wonderful and getting to honor UK on our car was something special. I think we made a lot of new fans tonight. Aaron’s made my dreams come true this weekend.”

RACE NOTES:
· Brad Keselowski won the race by 4.399 seconds over Kasey Kahne.
· Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five.
· The race took two hours and 45 minutes. 
· The race featured 17 lead changes among six drivers.
· Four cautions slowed the race for 24 laps.
· NASCAR estimated the attendance at 105,000.