Alex Bowman, No. 99 ToyotaCare Camry, Richmond Preview

Event Preview Fact Sheet 

Event/Date:      Virginia 529 College Savings 250 – September 6, 2013

Venue:            Richmond International Raceway

News & Notes:

• This Week’s ToyotaCare Toyota … Alex Bowman will pilot RAB Racing Chassis No. 40 in Friday’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway. This chassis last saw action at Bristol Motor Speedway last month.
• I’ve Been Here… Bowman has competed at Richmond International Raceway once on his Nationwide Series career. In April, Bowman finished 27 ^th following an early-race incident. Bowman has also raced here before in K&N Pro Series East competition. In 2011’s running of the Blue Ox 100, he scored a fifth place finish.
• RAB Racing at Richmond … RAB Racing with Brack Maggard has competed in nine Nationwide Series events at Richmond International Raceway since their inaugural year of competition in 2009. RAB Racing scored their best finish of fifth in 2011 with driver Kenny Wallace.
• Rice at Richmond … Crew chief of the No. 99 Toyota Camry, Chris Rice, has sat atop the pit box at Richmond International Raceway 11 times in his Nationwide Series career, garnering one top five, two top 10, and four top 20 finishes. Additionally, Rice has accumulated 19 laps led at the .75-mile oval. Rice, a South Boston, Virginia native grew up only two hours from the famed short track.
• Get to the Points … As we head into the 25^th race of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, Bowman currently occupies the 11 ^th position in the drivers’ point standings, 86 points out of the top 10. Owner Robby Benton sits at 17^th position in the Nationwide Series owners’ point standings.
• Rookie Battle… Following his 34^th place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bowman retained the second position in the Rookie of the Year point standings, 74 points behind Kyle Larson.
• Catch the Action … Friday’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway will be televised live Friday, September 6 beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2 and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network.
• Get Social … Don’t miss any updates from Bowman and RAB Racing. Follow them on Twitter @AlexBRacing and @RAB_Racing.

Alex Bowman Quotes:

“I’m excited to be getting a second chance at Richmond and racing under the lights on a Friday night. Last April we were easily a top 10 car but blew a right front tire and hit the wall, ending our chances for a good finish.  Ever since that race we’ve all been looking for a little redemption at Richmond and we’ll finally get our chance this Friday night. I love the track surface as you can change your line depending on how the car is performing, and pick up time. It’s a track that I immediately picked up while racing in the K&N Pro Series and recorded a top five finish in my first start .”

Chris Rice Quotes:

“I’m really looking forward to going back home to Richmond, VA. I’ve been coming to Richmond International Raceway since I was a kid and sneaking in with my parents; it’s a place that holds a lot of history for me. Being a crew chief now, we always fight forward traction in the center and exits of the corner. The better the driver is able to apply the throttle, the better we will be and that’s always the biggest challenge. It will also be a big challenge to get the car setup just right as we practice in the day time but race at night. When the track changes temperature, so will the car’s handling. Just like Alex said, we were really fast here in April until we blew a tire and hit the wall, so we will all be looking for some redemption this time around.”