Skip to content

CLINT BOWYER – 2017 Texas II Race Report

Event:               AAA Texas 500 (Round 34 of 36)
Series:               Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location:          Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile oval)
Format:             334 laps, broken into three stages (85 laps/85 laps/164 laps)
Start/Finish:       20th/36th (Running, completed 303 of 334 laps)
Point Standing: 18th with 820 points

Race Winner:    Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-85):

  • Clint Bowyer started 20th and finished 16th.
  • Bowyer moved from 20th to 17th while reporting his car was loose in and tight off the turns.
  • Pitted on lap 53 for four tires and fuel as well as adjustments to help the handling issues.
  • Stage 2 Recap (Laps 86-170):
  • Started 17th and finished 11th.
  • Crew made major handling adjustments before the stage and improved the car’s performance as Bowyer moved to 14th by lap 104.
  • Bowyer climbed to 11th in the final laps of the stage.

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 171-334):

  • Started 15th and finished 36th.
  • At the lap-200 mark, an oil leak forced the No. 14 to the garage for more than 30 laps as the crew made major rear-end repairs, including a gear change.
  • Bowyer returned to the track in 39th. He was 32 laps behind the leader.
  • No. 14 gained three spots in the closing laps.

Notes:

  • Kevin Harvick won the AAA Texas 500 to score his 37th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Texas Motor Speedway. His margin of victory over second-place Martin Truex Jr. was 1.58 seconds.
  • This was the 39th points-paying Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), its third of 2017 and its second at Texas.
  • This was Harvick’s second NASCAR Cup Series win of 2017, his first at Texas and the 37th of his career. It was his 14th Cup Series victory since joining SHR in 2014.
  • There were eight caution periods for a total of 40 laps.
  • Sixteen of the 40 drivers in the AAA Texas 500 finished on the lead lap.

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

“Man, we are plagued with bad luck lately. I think we would have had a top-10 today. Maybe we’ll get a break or two next week in Phoenix.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Can-Am 500 on Sunday, Nov. 12 at Phoenix Raceway. It is the penultimate race of the 10-race playoffs and starts at 2:30 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC.