Sophomore drivers Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. will clinch a spot in the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup by simply taking the green flag for this weekend’s NEXTEL Cup race, their first time ever participating in NASCAR’s playoff system.

“I can’t even imagine what it means yet,” Truex said of making the Chase. “It’s still such a dream come true that I’m not even sure if I can put it into words. All I can say is that I’m glad to see all of the hard work and hours spent in the shop pay off for my guys. They all work so hard, so its great to see them get rewarded.”

Bowyer shared similar emotions, but has another goal heading into the Chase.

“I want to win,” Bowyer said. “We need to get a win. I don’t want to be the only guy in the Chase that hasn’t won. If we are, certainly that isn’t a bad thing. But we just have to pick it up. I think we can do it.”

With Bowyer and Truex Jr. essentially a lock for the fourth Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, they, as well as the other 10 Chase drivers, will come to AMS after a season of highs and lows.

“In the spring we were 42nd in the points so we’ve came a long way,” Bowyer said. “We still had a few bad finishes and some trouble, but our cars have been fast all year long. A lot of things have gone the way we wanted them too, a few haven’t, but for the most part it’s been a really great year.”

It has been feast or famine for both Bowyer and Truex at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the seventh race in the Chase. In three Atlanta starts, Bowyer has recorded finishes of 27th, 25th and sixth. Truex has claimed finishes of 37th, 19th and eighth. The good news for each driver is that their best AMS finishes came in the most recent race, the March 2007 Kobalt Tools 500.

Truex also claimed a victory in the Crown Royal International Race of Champions season finale at AMS in 2006 and Bowyer recorded a fifth-place finish in the March, 2007 American Commercial Truck Series 200 Craftsman Truck Series race at AMS.

“It was a good day,” Bowyer said about his finish in the Kobalt Tools 500. “We were good all day long, we just got a little tight there at the end, but it was a good day for us.”

Regardless of past successes or woes at AMS, both Truex and Bowyer will have to be at the top of their game when they come to the fastest track on the NASCAR circuit if they wish to emerge with a shot at the title.

[AMS PR]