Bowyer credits "Betsy" for speedway success

FONTANA, Calif. -- Clint Bowyer has been waiting for this race ever since he left California Speedway seven months ago.

Bowyer ran third here last fall, and almost every memorable moment of his rookie season was authored on high-speed, low-banked tracks like Fontana.

Attribute the success to Betsy. The car was running third at Michigan last August when its engine expired with three laps to go. The car then threatened to win at Kansas last October.

"That is the car we have ran all our top fives in," Bowyer said. "She is a good one."

"Betsy," Bowyer's favorite car, was quickest in the second practice (181.424 mph) for Sunday's Auto Club 500, but he slipped to 18th-best (177.743 mph) in Happy Hour.

Jimmie Johnson, who has four career top-fives at Fontana, led Happy Hour with a lap of 182.523. He was second to Bowyer in the first practice on Saturday.

"It seemed like we lost our advantage there, just trying to chase it a little big," Bowyer said, "I think we will go back to the way we were, definitely a little bit concerned about it."

The key to running well on Sunday, Bowyer said, lies in the tire.

"The tires, and the way it makes the car react, you slip and slide all day long," Bowyer said. "The key is going to be sliding around and driving it straight up off. It seems like if you try to get off with any kind of wheel at all, it jumps on you."

Bowyer qualified sixth for Sunday's race, which is key -- track position is paramount at Fontana, which is traditionally dominated by long green-flag runs.

"This race is so long, you don't have a lot of chances to adjust on the car," Bowyer said. "What you get is what you got. For our car, we are not going to change it much."

Saturday's practices were run under sunny skies, and cars were noticeably affected by the slick conditions created by the warming over Friday, which was cloudy and cool.

Both practices were incident-free, and teams were openly testing fuel mileage in anticipation of lengthy green flag runs.