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CLINT BOWYER – 2020 Michigan II Race Report

Event: Consumers Energy 400 (Round 22 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval)
Format: 156 laps, broken into three stages (40 laps/45 laps/71 laps)
Start/Finish:       2nd/14th (Running, completed 156 of 156 laps)
Point Standing:  12th with 571 points, 345 out of first

Race Winner:      Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner:  Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner:  Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-40):

Clint Bowyer started second and finished first to earn 10 bonus points.
● The No. 14 DEKALB Ford took the lead at the drop of the green flag and led every lap in the stage.
● Bowyer reported his car was a little loose, but pulled out to a two-second stage victory.
● It was Bowyer’s sixth career stage victory and third of the 2020 season.
● During the stage break, Bowyer pitted for four tires and fuel.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 41-85):

Bowyer started third and finished fifth to earn six bonus points.
● Bowyer chose to start the stage on the outside lane in sixth, but quickly moved back to third.
● As the stage progressed, the No. 14 DEKALB Ford was too loose and faded to fifth.
● During the stage break, Bowyer took four tires and fuel then chose to start in the outside lane in eighth.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 86-156):

Bowyer started eighth and finished 14th.
● Traffic shuffled Bowyer to 12th in the opening laps of the stage.
● With 59 laps to go, Bowyer suffered left-side body damage when he was hit by another car while avoiding a two-car accident.
● A few laps later a tire rub forced Bowyer to pit under green for left-side tires and he fell to 28th.
●.A caution allowed Bowyer to return to the lead lap with 47 to go.
● Bowyer worked his way back to 14th when the checkered flag fell.

Notes:

● Bowyer is 14th in the playoff standings with a 60-point cushion over the final transfer spot into the 16-driver playoff field. Four races remain in the regular season.
● Bowyer led once for 43 laps to increase his laps-led total at Michigan to 80.
● Kevin Harvick’s margin of victory over second-place Denny Hamlin was .093 of a second.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 24 laps.
● Twenty-eight of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Harvick remains the championship leader after Michigan with a 137-point advantage over second-place Brad Keselowski.

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

“We had a pretty good DEKALB Ford today. Leading laps is a lot of fun. We could run wide open out front, but we had to lift behind other cars. We were OK until we got hit and that forced us to make an extra stop and that put us in the back. It was good to get some stage points today. We need to do that again next weekend in Daytona.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Go Bowling 235 on Sunday, Aug. 16 on the road course at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with coverage on NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.