BRISTOL, Tenn. – Chuck Bowles has been to several NASCAR and Indy Car races in the past, but none of those experiences have come close to what he got to see and do at Saturday night’s Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowles was selected by NAPA’s Knoxville management team to be Martin Truex Jr.’s Honorary Pit Crew Member (HPCM) during the sport’s most popular short-track event of the season.

Bowles of Nashville, Tenn., takes pride in saying he was born in the automotive business. He started his career when he was 18 years old in automotive repair. Through his hard work and dedication, he is now the largest District Manager at Firestone. Bowles oversees 43 locations in middle and east Tenn. Nine months ago, he began a partnership with NAPA and sales have increased due to a solid business model that includes training sessions. Bowles also continuously looks for ways to better service his customers and that includes providing them with the best parts -- NAPA AUTO PARTS -- for their vehicles.

“NAPA has been one of the few organizations that have taken everything down to the field,” said Bowles. “There are a lot of organizations that tell you on the upper end of their management and executive management teams that they are going to give you what you need. But NAPA gives you that and then takes it all the way down to the field and users. That means a lot to me especially in today’s tough economic climate. The service and the quality of NAPA parts are just tremendous. NAPA cares.”

On Saturday at Bristol, Bowles, along with several of his guests were invited to join Truex and owner Michael Waltrip during their appearances at the NAPA Race Day Experience. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota made Bowles’ honor official by presenting him with a team crew shirt. He was then escorted down to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage area for a personal tour of the NAPA team hauler, garage area and pit road by Michael Waltrip Racing’s Rick Wainright. He also joined the NAPA team for dinner and then participated in pre-race activities on the starting grid.

“I really enjoyed watching the rigorous inspection process and infrastructure that the NASCAR teams have to follow,” commented Bowles. “Plus, it was interesting to see all of the people that worked to put on a race. There’s a lot of staffing involved for each team as well as NASCAR. It’s just incredible. Obviously race fans, including myself, who do not get to tour the garage, never really get to see the process. There’s much more to it than cars going around in a circle.”

Unbeknownst to Bowles, his name was decaled on the lower quarter panels of the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota. The decals were kept secret until Bowles was introduced at the NAPA Race Day Experience.

“At first it was kind of hard to believe,” he stated. “I thought they were kind of kidding around. In the business I am in, you’ve got to see things in writing, so in this case, I wanted to see the NAPA Toyota. It was unbelievable to actually see my name on the side of Martin’s car.

“When they introduced Martin at the NAPA hospitality tent, I told Martin to please don’t wreck the side of the car. Then he reminded me that we’re at Bristol and it’s notorious for a lot of bumping and banging.”

Bowles watched the race from the NAPA pit box. Truex drove the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota to a 17th-place finish in the 500-lap event. Both of his decals were still safely intact at the end of the race.

For the second year in a row at NASCAR Sprint Cup events where NAPA is hosting its popular Race Day Experience, a guest will be chosen based on different criteria determined by the NAPA management from that region. The Honorary Pit Crew Member program is taking place at upcoming hospitality events at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Sept. 5), Richmond International Raceway (Sept. 11), Dover International Speedway (Sept. 26), Kansas Speedway (Oct. 3), Texas Motor Speedway (Nov. 7) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 21).