Event: Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (Round 20 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon(1.058-mile oval)
Format: 301 laps, broken into three stages (75 laps/75 laps/151 laps)
Start/Finish: 15th/35th (Accident, completed 255 of 301 laps)
Point Standing: 6th (638 points, 206 out of first)
Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Ended at Lap 75):
● Bowyer started 15th and finished eighth to earn three bonus points.
● Initially reported his car was good but just stuck in traffic.
● Climbed through the field, moving into 10th by lap 26.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel during the lap-35 competition caution and returned to the track in 22nd.
● Raced back to 10th by lap 42 and finished the stage in eighth.
Stage 2 Recap (Ended at Lap 150):
● Bowyer started seventh and finished seventh to earn four bonus points.
● Crew made adjustments during the stage break, but Bowyer reported handling difficulties on the flat oval.
● Bowyer held his position but couldn’t gain any spots. He said the rear grip of his car wasn’t good enough to run the high groove.
● Crew said Bowyer was about third quickest each lap as the stage drew to a close.
Stage 3 Recap (Ended at Lap 301):
● Bowyer started seventh and finished 35th.
● Held his position in the early going of the stage, running about 12 seconds behind the leader with 80 laps remaining.
● Reported he had a left-side issue that caused the car to bounce and bottom out on the track.
● During a routine stop on lap 223, Bowyer was black-flagged for pitting outside the box and forced to serve a one-lap penalty.
● Bowyer returned to the track in 25th two laps behind the leader.
● A few laps later Bowyer hit the wall, ending his race and bringing out the caution flag.
● Crew later determined the left-rear shock mount broke on the No. 14.
Notes:
● Kevin Harvick’s victory in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 marked the 52nd overall win for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). It was the organization’s 47th points-paying Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win and its fourth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
● This was SHR’s 11th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory with Ford. The team won its first race with Ford when Kurt Busch captured the 2017 Daytona 500.
● Harvick’s margin of victory over second-place Kyle Busch was 1.877 seconds.
● There were seven caution periods for a total of 31 laps.
Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Haas Automation VF-1 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“I was trying to nurse it around. Something in the left-rear was broke, and Brett (Griffin, spotter) told me, ‘We’re having trouble, let’s just get off the track,’ and I was kind of thinking the same thing. Literally, as he was saying that and I’m thinking it, something broke on the right side, and away it went. That sucks. I hate it for (SHR teammate) Aric (Almirola who was leading the race at the time).”
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Gander Outdoors 400 on Sunday, July 29 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN beginning at 2 p.m.
