Alex Bowman, No. 99 Port of Tucson Toyota Camry, Phoenix Preview - Speedway Digest

News & Notes:

This Week’s Toyota … Alex Bowman will pilot RAB Racing with Brack Maggard chassis No. 44 in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. This Toyota Camry made its 2012 debut at Iowa Speedway in May, where Travis Pastrana recorded a 26th-place finish after experiencing a part failure in the closing stages of the event. Pastrana then raced this chassis to a career-best 13th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. Most recently, this chassis was raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September, where Pastrana led his first laps of NASCAR competition before making contact with the wall, recording a 26th-place finish.
New Colors … RAB Racing welcomes Port of Tucson as a new marketing partner this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Port of Tucson is a multi-faceted rail facility in Tucson, providing a wide variety of rail-oriented transportation options in and around the southwest.
Welcome Home, Alex … Bowman, a native of Tucson, grew up just over 125 miles southeast of Phoenix International Raceway. He began his career racing quarter midgets in his home state at the age of 7. Since then, he has claimed six poles, six wins, 13 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes in 21 ARCA Series starts; five top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 14 NASCAR K&N East and West Series starts; and two top-20 finishes in three Nationwide Series races.
I’ve Been Here Before… Though this will be Bowman’s first ever Nationwide Series start at Phoenix International Raceway, he has raced here before in K&N Pro Series West competition. In 2011’s running of the Casino Arizona 150, Bowman posted a second-place finish.
RAB at Phoenix … RAB Racing has fielded Nationwide Series entries at Kentucky Speedway eight times since 2008, with drivers Jason Bowles, Brian Scott, John Wes Townley and Kenny Wallace. The team’s best showing at the Avondale oval is a 10th-place finish, which was posted by Wallace in 2011’s running of the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200.
Zipadelli at Phoenix … Crew chief Scott Zipadelli has sat atop the pit box as a Nationwide Series crew chief at Phoenix International Raceway 11 times in his career, posting one top-five, two top-10, and seven top-20 finishes. His highest finish at the one-mile oval is second, where he posted in 2009 with driver Jason Leffler.
The Collective RAB Racing Report … With 31 of 33 races completed this season, RAB Racing’s two NASCAR Nationwide Series entries have notched one top-five and four top-10 finishes. RAB Racing-prepared Toyotas have also completed 5,276 laps with its eight drivers – Bowman, Patrick Carpentier, Victor Gonzalez, Jr., Brett Moffit, Pastrana, Townley, Ryan Truex and Wallace.
Get to the Points … As we head into the 32nd race of the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, RAB Racing currently occupies the 18th position in the owner’s points standings.
Get Well, Torie … In recognition of his 16-year-old daughter Torie Costa’s battle with childhood rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue malignant tumor of skeletal muscle origin that accounts for approximately 3.5% of the cases of cancer among children aged 0 to 14 years, crew chief Scott Zipadelli and the members of RAB Racing’s Nationwide Series team are wearing pink bracelets in support of Torie. A CaringBridge site has been created where Torie and her family post updates as she battles her disease. Family and friends are able to visit the site, stay informed and leave supportive messages. To keep up with Torie’s journey, visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/toriecosta
Catch the Action … Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway will be televised live Saturday, November 10 beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST on ESPN and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network. NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying will be televised live Saturday, November 10 beginning at 12:30 p.m. EST on SPEED.
Get Social … Don’t miss any updates from Bowman. Follow him on Twitter @AlexBRacing.

Alex Bowman Quotes:

“I’m looking forward to be driving RAB Racing’s Toyota this weekend at Phoenix. I think we have a great shot at my home track. It’s nice to have a sponsor from my hometown, Port of Tucson, on the No. 99 Toyota Camry. Hopefully we’ll all have a good run together and get the finish we deserve. We had a great run going at Kentucky Speedway earlier this year, but had a fluke part failure at the end. So, we’ll be looking for a little bit of redemption from that.”

Scott Zipadelli Quotes:

“I’m really looking forward to racing at Phoenix with Alex Bowman this weekend. I’m really impressed with Alex and all that he’s accomplished. He’s done a great job in the ARCA Series, and when he drove our No. 99 Toyota Camry at Kentucky Speedway earlier this year, I quickly figured out why. He gives incredible feedback, and has amazing car control. We’re bringing a strong car, one that Travis Pastrana was able to put up some good runs with. We had, I feel like, a top-five finish coming to us at Phoenix in the spring, but we had a right-front tire fail just past halfway, and that not only ended our day, but also destroyed our car. Knowing that Alex has a lot of laps here in different vehicles, and it being his home track, we’re feeling good about our chances for a top-10 finish this weekend.”

RAB Racing PR

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