Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):
● Clint Bowyer started 22nd, finished 11th.
● Reported his car was difficult to turn, which hindered passing.
● Pitted on lap 17 for four tires, fuel and air adjustments.
● He and SHR teammate Kevin Harvick were fastest cars on the track in final laps of the stage.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):
● Started 11th, finished 25th.
● Right side of the car made heavy contact with wall on lap 58, then pitted for repairs.
● Dropped to 30th place and a lap behind the leaders.
● No. 14 was stretching fuel in closing stage laps when lap-96 caution/red flag enabled him to earn free pass and return to lead lap.
● Bowyer made slight wall contact avoiding Kyle Larsen, who accidently swerved warming his tires under caution.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-160):
● Started 26th, finished 17th.
● Climbed to 23rd with 50 laps to go, 20th with 40 laps to go and 17th with 20 laps to go.
● Bowyer made green-flag stops for four tires, fuel and adjustments with 31 and 17 laps remaining.
● Handling issues likely caused by the wall contact kept him from climbing higher in the field.
Notes:
● Ryan Blaney won the Axalta presents the Pocono 400 to score his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory.
● NASCAR red-flagged the race for 23 minutes after Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray crashed on lap 97. Neither was hurt.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 18 laps,
● There were 13 lead changes among nine drivers.
Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“I thought we had a pretty good car on long runs today, but we got into the wall and that ruined our race. We got a lap down but battled back. Our guys didn’t give up and we got an OK finish.”
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