Event: Folds of Honor 500 (Round 2 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Format: 325 laps, broken into three stages (85 laps/85 laps/155 laps)
Start/Finish: 25th/11th (Running, completed 325 of 325 laps)
Point Standing: 14th (46 points, 44 out of first)
Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-85):
- Started 24th, finished 15th.
- Drove from 25th to 12th in the first 32 laps.
- Bowyer said car was a little loose on first run and tight on second.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 86-170):
- Started 13th, finished ninth to earn three race points.
- Reported car was too loose with no rear grip, pitted on lap 126.
- Passed three cars in the final 10 laps to finish ninth.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 171-325):
- Started ninth.
- Climbed to third with 85 to go, but Bowyer was shuffled to seventh on a race restart with 55 laps to go.
- Suffered fender damage on the next restart that resulted in a cut tire and crash with 45 laps to go.
- Crew repaired damage enabling Bowyer to drive from 15th to 11th.
Notes:
- Stewart-Haas Racing is 1-2 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship standings. Harvick leads by four points over Busch.
- Harvick won both Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Really fast Haas Automation Ford today, but we got hit and put in the wall on a restart, then we had a cut tire and got the wall pretty good. Really disappointing because I think we had something for them today. We made a good comeback to finish 11th. I’m disappointed, because we were getting better and better throughout the race.”
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Kobalt 400 on Sunday, March 12 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX.
