Clint Bowyer 14th at Kansas

Race Winner:      Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner:  Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner:  Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

Clint Bowyer started 19th and finished 16th.

● Bowyer held his position until the lap-20 competition caution telling the crew his car was very loose.

● A quick pit stop by the One Cure Ford crew returned Bowyer to the track in 14th for the restart.

● Bowyer’s handling issues continued as he dropped to 16th when the stage ended.

● During the stage break, the crew continued to make handling adjustments.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

Bowyer started 13th and finished 21st.

● The One Cure No. 14 was “really loose” as Bowyer dropped to 24th by the lap-115 mark.

● Bowyer pitted during a caution on lap 140 for major handling changes and restarted 26th.

● Bowyer climbed back to 21st before the stage ended.

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Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):

Bowyer started 19th and finished 14th.

● The No. 14 escaped major damage in a five-car accident with 90 laps remaining.  

● Bowyer pitted for right front fender repairs and restarted the race in 25th with 86 laps remaining.

● Bowyer dodged another multicar wreck on the restart. The race resumed with 82 to go and Bowyer in 18th.

● A third accident of the stage brought out the caution with 71 laps remaining. Bowyer pitted and restarted 14th.   

● Bowyer broke into the top-10 with 67 laps remaining.

● A blown engine brought the field to pitlane where Bowyer took four tires and restarted the race in 10th with 28 to go.

● After another caution, Bowyer stayed on the track and restarted in 12th with 22 laps left.  

● Bowyer fell to 14th in the final sprint to the finish.  

 

Notes:

● By moving to 12th in the point standings, Bowyer will start in the top 12 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on Aug. 2.

● This was Bowyer’s second consecutive top-15. He finished 11th last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

● This was Bowyer’s fifth straight top-15 at Kansas. He finished eighth last October and fifth in May 2019.

● Since joining SHR in 2017, Bowyer has only finished outside the top-15 once at Kansas.

● Denny Hamlin won the Super Start Batteries 400 to score his 42nd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his third at Kansas. His margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was .510 of a second.

● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 47 laps.

● Only 18 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Kevin Harvick remains the championship leader after Kansas with a 97-point advantage over second-place Keselowski.

 

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 One Cure Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Man, we were so loose in the first two stages. We worked hard on it and got it better in the final stage. I don’t know how the heck I didn’t wreck in that (Lap 177) big wreck. We got some damage then we dodged a couple more (wrecks) after that. It was a tough race, but nobody on our One Cure team gave up and our pit crew helped us out a bunch tonight. It’s good to be back in the top-12 in points. That will help our qualifying spot in New Hampshire. It’s always good to be back home in Kansas. I just wish we could have had the fans here tonight. We really missed them and ready to get them back to the track.”

 

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 on Sunday, Aug. 2 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

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