Clint Bowyer Finishes Second at Bristol

Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (Toyota)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Ended at Lap 125):

Started ninth, finished 20th.

Bowyer battled rear grip issues throughout Stage 1, pushing him back to 21st.

After a red-flag period, Bowyer battled his way back to 15th before making slight contact with another car, ultimately pushing his Haas Automation Ford Fusion back five positions.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Ended at Lap 250):

Started 18th, finished 16th.

Ran as high as 13th before battling more rear grip and front turn issues.

A caution on lap 219 presented Bowyer the opportunity to take four tires and adjustments to restart in the 16th position.

 

Final Stage Recap (Ended at Lap 500):

● Started 16th, finished second.

● Bowyer battled in the top-10 throughout the final stage.

After a caution with 48 laps to go, Bowyer took four tires to restart seventh.

With 15 laps to go, Bowyer charged to second place, passing Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick.

 

Notes:              

Bowyer’s second-place result was his best since finishing third at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in June 2015.

● There were nine caution periods for a total of 76 laps.

● Fifteen drivers finished on the lead lap.

● Jimmie Johnson’s Food City 500 victory was his 82nd career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win, his second of the season and his second at Bristol. His margin of victory over Bowyer was 1.199 seconds.  

TSC PR