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CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Pocono I Race Report

Event:               Axalta presents the Pocono 400 (Round 14 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format:             160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish:      22nd / 17th (Status, Running 160 of 160 laps)
Point Standing: 10th (369 points, 215 out of first)

Race Winner:    Ryan Blaney of Wood Brothers Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner:             Kyle Larson of Team (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

  • Clint Bowyer started 22nd, finished 11th.
  • Reported his car was difficult to turn, which hindered passing.
  • Pitted on lap 17 for four tires, fuel and air adjustments.
  • He and SHR teammate Kevin Harvick were fastest cars on the track in final laps of the stage. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

  • Started 11th, finished 25th.
  • Right side of the car made heavy contact with wall on lap 58, then pitted for repairs.
  • Dropped to 30th place and a lap behind the leaders.
  • No. 14 was stretching fuel in closing stage laps when lap-96 caution/red flag enabled him to earn free pass and return to lead lap.
  • Bowyer made slight wall contact avoiding Kyle Larsen, who accidently swerved warming his tires under caution. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-160):

  • Started 26th, finished 17th.
  • Climbed to 23rd with 50 laps to go, 20th with 40 laps to go and 17th with 20 laps to go.
  • Bowyer made green-flag stops for four tires, fuel and adjustments with 31and 17 laps remaining.
  • Handling issues likely caused by the wall contact kept him from climbing higher in the field. 

Notes:

  • Ryan Blaney won the Axalta presents the Pocono 400 to score his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory.
  • NASCAR red-flagged the race for 23 minutes after Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray crashed on lap 97. Neither was hurt.
  • There were four caution periods for a total of 18 laps,
  • There were 13 lead changes among nine drivers.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I thought we had a pretty good car on long runs today, but we got into the wall and that ruined our race. We got a lap down but battled back. Our guys didn’t give up and we got an OK finish.”

Next Up:                                                                        

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Firekeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, June 18 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.