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CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Indianapolis Race Report

Event:               Brickyard 400 (Round 20 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format:             167 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/67 laps)
Note:                 Race ended in overtime, going seven laps past its scheduled 160-lap distance
Start/Finish:      18th/30th (Accident, completed 148 of 167 laps)
Point Standing: 11th (533 points, 247 out of first) 

Race Winner:    Kasey Kahne of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) in overtime
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):

  • Clint Bowyer started 18th, finished 11th.
  • Bowyer started well, moving to 12th by the end of lap two.
  • Heavy rain stopped the race on lap 11. The race restarted after an hour and 47 minutes.
  • Bowyer climbed to 11th before the stage’s conclusion. 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):

  • Started 10th and finished 17th.
  • Bowyer climbed as high as eighth as he turned similar lap times as the leaders.
  • Crew made air pressure adjustments to help the car handle better in traffic. 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-167):

  • Started 14th and finished 30th.
  • Climbed to 10th with 54 laps to go.
  • Moved to seventh with 49 laps remaining after he narrowly dodged a wreck involving the two leaders.
  • Raced in sixth when he pitted under green for fuel and tires with 30 to go.
  • With 12 laps to go, Bowyer made contact with the spinning car of Paul Menard, then slammed into the inside wall before he was struck by Kurt Busch.
  • Bowyer was uninjured, but the No. 14 sustained severe damage and could not continue. 

Notes:

  • There were 14 caution periods for a total of 55 laps.
  • Kasey Kahne won the Brickyard 400 to score his 18th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Indianapolis.
  • Martin Truex Jr. leads the championship standings with 780 points with a 48-point advantage over his nearest pursuer, Kyle Larson.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Rush Truck Centers Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“It was a pretty hard hit, and then somebody hit me again. I don’t know when. It felt like they did. Definitely wasn’t needed for sure. We’ll regroup. This is a strong team. I’m proud of the 14 bunch. I’m proud of their effort. We were a little bit off in practices and things like that, qualifying. We found a way to make it better for the race. I think we were going to have a single-digit finish. It just wasn’t our day.”

Next Up:                                                                        

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Overton’s 400 on Sunday, July 30 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.