Hamlin Overcomes Pit Road Struggles to Win at Texas

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Denny Hamlin won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Hamlin did not have an easy day on his way to victory lane.  After getting hit with two pit road penalties throughout the race, Hamlin and his team used pit strategy to get back to the front.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Hamlin said overcoming both penalties showed how strong his car was on Sunday.

“Just a really fast car,” Hamlin said.  “They gave me a fast car; a car fast enough to really pass anyone in the field, so that means a lot.”

The race at Texas was different than those in the past, as this race featured NASCAR’s new aero package.  The package gave drivers more opportunities to draft as they would at a bigger tracks like Daytona or Talladega.

Hamlin said the new rules package changed the way drivers raced throughout the day.

“Definitely a different kind of race trying to draft…trying to get out of everyone’s way,” Hamlin said.  “Proud of this whole FedEx Office team.”

Clint Bowyer was chasing Hamlin down over the final green-flag run, but after Hamlin picked up time during the final pit stop, Bowyer wasn’t able to get close enough to challenge for the win.

After struggling with his car’s handling in practice and getting bit by a controversial call by NASCAR in qualifying, Bowyer said his weekend ended better than it started.

“This car was a little off…all weekend long; it took awhile for our Mustang to get good,” Bowyer said.  “I was a little nervous for the race, and we made some good adjustments.”

“I wanted to catch [Hamlin] bad; he just came out of the pits way too far ahead of me and there wasn’t much I could do about it.”

Unofficial results:

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Clint Bowyer

3. Daniel Suarez

4. Erik Jones

5. Jimmie Johnson

6. William Byron

7. Aric Almirola

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Kurt Busch

10. Kyle Busch

11. Ryan Newman

12. Martin Truex Jr.

13. Chase Elliott

14. Austin Dillon

15. Michael McDowell

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

17. Joey Logano

18. Alex Bowman

19. Paul Menard

20. Chris Buescher

21. Ty Dillon

22. Ryan Preece

23. Bubba Wallace

24. Matt Tifft

25. David Ragan

26. Matt DiBenedetto

27. Parker Kligerman

28. Corey LaJoie

29. Ross Chastain

30. Landon Cassill

31. BJ McLoed

32. Garrett Smithley

33. Daniel Hemric

34. Reed Sorenson

35. Bayley Currey

36. Brad Keselowski

37. Ryan Blaney

38. Timmy Hill

39. Kyle Larson

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Bowyer Wins Rain-Shortened Michigan Race

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Clint Bowyer won the rain-shortened FireKeepers Casino 400 from Michigan International Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Rain delayed the start of the race on Sunday by over two hours, and it threatened the track throughout the race.  The rain finally arrived and ended the race on lap 133 of 200 while Bowyer was out front.

Daniel Shirley/Getty Images

Bowyer’s team used pit strategy to get to the front, taking only two tires on the final pit stop while the rest of the field took four tires.

Bowyer said he was nervous when he was the only driver to take two tires.

“When he said two tires…I don’t know,” Bowyer said.  “Especially when I looked in the mirror and everyone else took four.  When you come out that far ahead of everybody else, you know you’re on a mission for a gamble.”

On the final restart, Bowyer had to hold off his teammate Kevin Harvick, who had led the most laps throughout the race.  Bowyer said he knew holding off Harvick would be a challenge.

“Being on the same tires with Kevin on a restart, you know what you’re up against,” Bowyer said.  “He was so much faster than me in 1 and 2.  I got down to 3 and 4 and I had to chop him off and take his line away.”

Harvick said he was surprised Bowyer’s car was so fast with just two fresh tires.

“Clint had a good restart,” Harvick said.  “I hadn’t restarted against a car that was as good as his and just a foot from clearing him there.”

“If you’re going to lose one in the rain and give it away, you might want to give it to your teammate.”

Unofficial results:

1. Clint Bowyer

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Kurt Busch

4. Kyle Busch

5. Paul Menard

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Joey Logano

8. Ryan Blaney

9. Chase Elliott

10. Jamie McMurray

11. Aric Almirola

12. Denny Hamlin

13. William Byron

14. Austin Dillon

15. Erik Jones

16. Alex Bowman

17. AJ Allmendinger

18. Martin Truex Jr.

19. Darrell Wallace Jr.

20. Jimmie Johnson

21. Ty Dillon

22. Ryan Newman

23. Kasey Kahne

24. Chris Buescher

25. Michael McDowell

26. Ross Chastain

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Kyle Larson

29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

30. Daniel Suarez

31. Gray Gaulding

32. Landon Cassill

33. Matt Kenseth

34. DJ Kennington

35. Timmy Hill

36. Matt DiBenedetto

37. BJ McLeod

38. David Ragan

39. Garrett Smithley

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Harvick Dominates at Dover

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the AAA 400 from Dover International Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Harvick led a race-high 201 laps on his way to a dominant victory on Sunday.  After two of Harvick’s Stewart-Haas teammates finished in the top five, Harvick said the finishes were a testament to the organization’s strength.

Robert Laberge/Getty Images

“The first thing I had to do was just thank everybody on my team…for just continuing to put the effort that they put into these cars,” Harvick said.  “Three cars in the top five says a lot about where we are as a company.”

Rain halted the race with 80 laps to go, but the race restarted after NASCAR was able to dry the track.  When the race resumed, Harvick raced Clint Bowyer for the lead before pulling away by seven seconds.

Harvick said he enjoyed racing for the lead with his teammate.

“It’s fun racing your teammate; that says a lot about our company,” Harvick said.

Bowyer said he didn’t know how his car would handle in clean air over the final run after running in traffic for the most of the day.

“The biggest thing was if we had a chance to adjust our car in clean air like [Harvick] did; he had that luxury all day,” Bowyer said.  “It’s fun to be running like this again and be competitive.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Clint Bowyer

3. Daniel Suarez

4. Martin Truex Jr.

5. Kurt Busch

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Denny Hamlin

8. Ryan Blaney

9. Jimmie Johnson

10. Kyle Larson

11. Aric Almirola

12. Chase Elliott

13. Joey Logano

14. William Byron

15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

16. Jamie McMurray

17. Kasey Kahne

18. Erik Jones

19. Trevor Bayne

20. Chris Buescher

21. AJ Allmendinger

22. Michael McDowell

23. Alex Bowman

24. Ty Dillon

25. Darrell Wallace Jr.

26. Austin Dillon

27. David Ragan

28. Ross Chastain

29. Matt DiBenedetto

30. Gray Gaulding

31. Landon Cassill

32. Reed Sorenson

33. Ryan Newman

34. Paul Menard

35. Kyle Busch

36. Cody Ware

37. Derrike Cope

38. Corey LaJoie

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Bowyer Snaps Winless Streak with Martinsville Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Clint Bowyer won the STP 500 on Monday afternoon from the Martinsville Speedway.

The race, originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, was postponed due to a snow storm in the Virginia area.  That forced NASCAR to run most of the Truck Series race and the entire Cup Series race on Monday.

Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Bowyer’s victory snapped a 190-race winless streak that dated back to his victory at Charlotte in October 2012. 

Since Bowyer moved to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2017, he has seen his teammate Kevin Harvick run up front every week while Bowyer ran mid-pack.  Bowyer said watching his teammates succeed helped light a fire within him and his team.

“It’s hard to watch your teammates…have all that success,” Bowyer said.  “It still fuels that fire, and it can either be a detriment or a positive attraction, and for us, it just made us want to get to Victory Lane.”

Bowyer dominated on Monday, and led a race-high 215 laps.  Bowyer said he knew his car was fast from the beginning of the weekend.

“Something just felt right about today,” Bowyer said.  “Our weekend, all four cars were fast.”

Kyle Busch had a strong car and ran up front throughout the race, but he couldn’t get to Bowyer to make a move for the win.  Instead, he collected his third second-place finish of the season.

Busch said he was starting to get frustrated with running so well without a victory.

“We’ve been that close each and every week, so we’re right there, we’re knocking on the door,” Busch said.  “We’ve been the closest thing to everybody each and every week.”

Unofficial results:

1. Clint Bowyer

2. Kyle Busch

3. Ryan Blaney

4. Martin Truex Jr.

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Joey Logano

7. Alex Bowman

8. AJ Allmendinger

9. Chase Elliott

10. Brad Keselowski

11. Kurt Busch

12. Denny Hamlin

13. Paul Menard

14. Aric Almirola

15. Jimmie Johnson

16. Kyle Larson

17. Erik Jones

18. Daniel Suarez

19. Ryan Newman

20. William Byron

21. Michael McDowell

22. Ty Dillon

23. Chris Buescher

24. Kasey Kahne

25. David Ragan

26. Jamie McMurray

27. Cole Whitt

28. DJ Kennington

29. Ross Chastain

30. Austin Dillon

31. JJ Yeley

32. Matt DiBenedetto

33. Trevor Bayne

34. Darrell Wallace Jr.

35. Harrison Rhodes

36. Gray Gaulding

37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

38. Landon Cassill

Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Harvick Wins at Sonoma

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Toyota/Save-Mart 350 from Sonoma Raceway on Sunday afternoon.

Harvick led 24 of 110 laps, but he had to save some fuel over the final run to make it to victory lane.  Harvick thanked his team in victory lane for using a successful strategy to get their first win of the season.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

“Just really proud of everybody, they had a great strategy,” Harvick said.  “We were able to make it happen.”

Harvick won his first race with Ford on Sunday, after an offseason manufacturer switch for Stewart-Haas Racing saw them switch from Chevrolet to Ford.  Harvick said he’s happy to finally see his team’s hard work pay off with a victory.

“I want to thank everyone from…Stewart-Haas Racing for everything that they’ve done,” Harvick said.  “It’s been a lot of work…and it’s paying off.  We’ve been competitive, we just haven’t gotten to victory lane.”

“We’ve had a couple opportunities to get there, we just came up a little bit short.”

Harvick’s teammate Clint Bowyer finished second on Sunday after an eventful race.  His car, held together with duct tape, looked like it had no business running up front.  Bowyer said he and his team kept working through adversity at a track where he normally runs well.

“I tore the hell out of it, there’s no way around it,” Bowyer said.  “That’s road racing; you’ve got to keep digging no matter what.  You’re not down and out until you’re out.”

“To get a finish like that, you just can’t give up.  Things turned around there on that long run; that’s always my strong suit here.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Clint Bowyer

3. Brad Keselowski

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Kyle Busch

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

7. Kurt Busch

8. Chase Elliott

9. Ryan Blaney

10. Jamie McMurray

11. Paul Menard

12. Joey Logano

13. Jimmie Johnson

14. Michael McDowell

15. Ryan Newman

16. Daniel Suarez

17. Danica Patrick

18. Austin Dillon

19. Chris Buescher

20. Matt Kenseth

21. Cole Whitt

22. Billy Johnson

23. Matt DiBenedetto

24. Kasey Kahne

25. Erik Jones

26. Kyle Larson

27. Trevor Bayne

28. Ty Dillon

29. Boris Said

30. Landon Cassill

31. David Ragan

32. Alon Day

33. Kevin O’Connell

34. Tommy Regan

35. AJ Allmendinger

36. Josh Bilicki

37. Martin Truex Jr.

38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson Wins Rain-Delayed Food City 500

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Jimmie Johnson won the rain-delayed Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway on Monday afternoon.

Photo courtesy Adam Niemeyer

Johnson took the lead late in the race, and led the final 21 laps on his way to victory lane for the second-straight race weekend.  Johnson said he was happy his car handled well late and that he didn’t have to fight anyone for the lead in the closing laps.

“I was happy to get away at the end and not have to worry about Clint [Bowyer] or anybody else behind me,” Johnson said.  “Our cars have been very capable of running up front, and it’s been nice these last two weeks to execute from the start of the race.”

Leading up to the race, Bristol Motor Speedway staff sprayed a sticky substance known as VHT on the bottom lane of the track to add grip.  The track staff wanted the track to return to the “old Bristol,” with single-file racing with drivers using their bumpers to move one another out of the way.

Johnson said the racing was fun, and that the VHT helped the bottom lane compete with the top line.

“There were so many competitive passes and so much racing going on over the course of the event,” Johnson said.  “I think the bulk of the race they did a nice job with the VHT on the bottom…second line finally came in and a very exciting race.”

Kyle Larson led a race-high 202 laps, but a speeding penalty late in the race caused him to restart in the back of the pack.  Larson was able to recover to finish sixth, but said he was disappointed he cost himself a shot at the victory.

“I knew I gave the race away there,” Larson said.  “Disappointed in myself.  I was surprised I was able to line up with an opportunity there at the end.”

“I think even if I was able to get to the lead, I don’t think I would have won because Jimmie and Clint were way faster than I was.”

Unofficial results:

1. Jimmie Johnson

2. Clint Bowyer

3. Kevin Harvick

4. Matt Kenseth

5. Joey Logano

6. Kyle Larson

7. Chase Elliott

8. Martin Truex Jr.

9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

10. Denny Hamlin

11. Trevor Bayne

12. Jamie McMurray

13. Austin Dillon

14. Ryan Newman

15. Ty Dillon

16. Paul Menard

17. Erik Jones

18. Daniel Suarez

19. Matt DiBenedetto

20. Kasey Kahne

21. Cole Whitt

22. Aric Almirola

23. David Ragan

24. Corey LaJoie

25. Kurt Busch

26. Michael McDowell

27. Jeffrey Earnhardt

28. Reed Sorenson

29. Gray Gaulding

30. AJ Allmendinger

31. Derrike Cope

32. Landon Cassill

33. Ryan Blaney

34. Brad Keselowski

35. Kyle Busch

36. Danica Patrick

37. Timmy Hill

38. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

39. Chris Buescher

Photo courtesy Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Thanks to Adam Niemeyer for the photo of Jimmie Johnson on Monday.  Check out more of his work on his blog.

Field Set for Sprint All-Star Race

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick became the final drivers to qualify for Saturday’s Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Biffle and Bowyer won the first and second segments of Friday night’s Sprint Showdown, respectively.  The Showdown included all the drivers who have not won a race in the past season, made last season’s Chase for the Sprint Cup or have never won a Sprint All-Star Race.

Photo courtesy Stewart-Haas Racing Facebook page.

Biffle jumped out to the lead in the first segment when the green flag fell, and he never looked back.  He ran away from the field and won the first segment by over 1.5 seconds.  Following the segment, he took his car to the garage and did not race in the second segment.

Bowyer took four tires during the caution between segments, and it turned out to be the winning move.  After a caution early in segment two, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson raced side-by-side for the lead.  Bowyer took the duo three-wide into Turn 1, took the lead, and pulled away from the field over the final 15 laps of the second segment.

Patrick was the winner of the fan vote, which NASCAR said had the smallest margin between first and second place in All-Star Race history.  Patrick also became the first driver to win the fan vote more than once, after winning the fan vote in 2013.

Qualifying for the Sprint All-Star Race will be Saturday afternoon.  The race will be Saturday night at 9:25 EST.

This year’s All-Star Race will feature five segments.  The first four segments will be 20 laps, and then a final, 10-lap shootout to decide the winner.  The Sprint All-Star Race, one of only two non-points events during the NASCAR season, pays the winner $1 million.

Below are the drivers who will make up the field for Saturday’s 90-lap event.  

#1 – Jamie McMurray

#2 – Brad Keselowski

#4 – Kevin Harvick

#5 – Kasey Kahne

#10 – Danica Patrick (Sprint Fan Vote Winner)

#11 – Denny Hamlin

#14 – Tony Stewart

#15 – Clint Bowyer (Sprint Showdown Segment 2 Winner)

#16 – Greg Biffle (Sprint Showdown Segment 1 Winner)

#18 – Kyle Busch

#19 – Carl Edwards

#20 – Matt Kenseth

#22 – Joey Logano

#24 – Jeff Gordon

#31 – Ryan Newman

#41 – Kurt Busch

#43 – Aric Almirola

#47 – AJ Allmendinger

#48 – Jimmie Johnson

#88 – Dale Earnhardt Jr