WELCOME, N.C. (March 25, 2003) — Jason Fowler, rear-tire carrier for Richard Childress Racing’s (RCR) No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet, will miss Sunday’s Samsung/Radio Shock 500 at Texas Motor Speedway as he recovers from an injury suffered to his left index finger last weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

Phil Gould, rear-tire carrier for RCR’s No. 21 Payday Chevrolet Busch Series team, will fill in for Fowler at Texas.

Fowler sustained a severed nerve, severed tendons and chipped bone in his left index finger while working on torn sheet metal during a pit stop on lap 229 of the Food City 500. He was treated at the infield care center and then transported to Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center. Fowler is scheduled to see an orthopedic specialist in Winston-Salem, N.C., Wednesday morning for additional treatment.

His status beyond this weekend’s race is yet to be determined.