ROANOKE, VA :: When it comes to the big races, Matt Bowling can deliver.  Bowling is a former winner of the Hampton Heat 200 and the most recent winner of the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown.  Now, Bowling’s looking to add the Martinsville DuPont Credit Union (MDCU) 300 to that list, but he knows he’ll need a little bit of luck on Sunday.

Bowling, a former champion at South Boston Speedway, feels his 2014 season was perhaps his most successful as he scored five wins at two different tracks (Caraway Speedway and South Boston Speedway).  He tested with two different engine packages during last week’s two-day open test session one being a Ford Crate engine and the other being a built Chevrolet motor.  After the test, Bowling elected to run the Chevrolet.

“We came back up on Thursday with the Chevy and we’re sold on that and we’re committed to that,” Bowling said on Tuesday night.  “I feel like we were really good.  We had a good race package.  I feel like it’s a top-10 car in race trim.  We just need a little more speed out of the car.  We kind of know where we were lacking and I feel like crew chief HC Sellers will make the right changes and I feel like we’ll come back a little bit faster.”

Bowling feels that his car is where he needs it to be with horsepower and handling.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Bowling stated.  “I think we’ve got a really good Chevy and a really good turning racecar.”

With the car where he wants it, Bowling has his sights set on victory in Late Model Stock Car racing’s most prestigious race.

“I don’t see why we can’t win,” Bowling remarked.  “We’ve had a great year, best year I’ve ever had.  We about won the thing in 2012 and I don’t see why we can’t win it or give it a good shot this year.  It’s the best year I’ve ever had and I have some good momentum going in to this race.  Me, HC and all the guys are working really well together so I don’t see why we can’t make it happen.”

In four previous Martinsville attempts, Bowling has one top-10 finish, which came in 2012, but has had his efforts derailed in the other three races due to accidents or mechanical problems.   Bowling knows, because of past misfortunes, that luck plays an integral role in success at the track affectionately called ‘the paperclip’.

“You just got to have all your ducks in a row and hopefully luck falls your way,” Bowling commented.  “Sometimes, you’re more lucky than good.  The year we lost it, luck wasn’t on our side so that’s part of it.  I feel like, if you’re in the top eight or so at the end, you’ve got a legitimate shot at it.  It just depends how the car falls.  All we can do is put ourselves in position to win and hope for the best.”

If luck falls in Bowling’s favor this year, he could certainly be a prime contender in Sunday’s MDCU 300.