Event: Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 (Round 34 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 334 laps, broken into three stages (105 laps/105 laps/124 laps)
Note: Race was stopped after 52 laps due to rain and wasn’t able to resume until Wednesday night.
Start/Finish: 21st/17th (Running, completed 333 of 334 laps)
Point Standing: 13th with 2,199 points
Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-105):
● Clint Bowyer started 21st and finished first to earn 10 bonus points.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang restarted the race in 13th after the lap-25 competition caution.
● A fuel-only stop on lap 48 moved Bowyer to the lead before rain stopped the race Sunday on lap 52.
● The race resumed on Wednesday night 72 hours, 28 minutes, 34 seconds after stopping on Sunday.
● Bowyer remained at the front when the race restarted Wednesday leading every lap until the end of the stage.
● During the stage break the No. 14 pitted for four tires and fuel.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 106-210):
● Bowyer started second and finished eighth to earn three bonus points.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang dropped to fifth in the stage’s opening laps.
● Bowyer climbed to third by lap 200 when he pitted for four tires and routine service under green.
● Bowyer said his car started to get tight in the closing laps of the stage.
● The No. 14 stayed on the track during the stage break.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 211-334):
● Bowyer started second and finished 17th.
● The No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang battled for the lead in the opening laps of the stage.
● Bowyer raced in second with 80 to go when he reported he was out of fuel and immediately pitted.
● Bowyer fell to 24th and a lap behind the leaders, but the race stayed green and he returned to first place when the leaders pitted.
● Because he had to pit early, he didn’t have enough fuel to make it to the end of the race and pitted from the lead with 24 laps to go.
● The green-flag stop dropped Bowyer to 18th and a lap behind the leaders.
● The remainder of the race ran without caution and Bowyer finished 17th.
Notes:
● Bowyer led four times for 89 laps to increase his laps-led total at Texas to 213.
● Kyle Busch won the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 to score his 57th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his fourth at Texas. His margin of victory over second-place Martin Truex Jr., was .468 of a second.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 47 laps.
● Only 15 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kevin Harvick remains the championship leader after Texas with a 15-point advantage over second-place Denny Hamlin.
Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“So much for getting a six-shooter. That was a sick feeling to be out front knowing you couldn’t make it to the end. Obviously, we had a good Ford Mustang tonight. I’m ready to go home and then try again in Martinsville.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Xfinity 500 on Sunday, Nov. 1 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. It is the penultimate race of the 10-race playoffs and the final race in the Round of 8. It starts at 2 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
