By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Each week, Kickin’ The Tires will highlight the 20th-place finisher from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Standing as the middleman in weekends with 40-car fields, there is sure to be a story behind each one.
For the first time since Martinsville in March, a leading organization ended the day in 20th position. This time, it was Stewart-Haas Racing and Clint Bowyer, who dropped down the running order late in Sunday’s Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway.
Starting ninth, Bowyer had his most consistent day at Pocono since 2010, holding an average running position of seventh across the 160 laps. Additionally, the Martinsville winner ended the stages fourth and third, stacking up solid stage points for the regular season.
Where did it go wrong for the No. 14? Well, one of Pocono’s “tricky” additions bit hard as Bowyer missed a shift in his Busch Light Ford with five laps to go. Running top 10 at the time, he fell back to 25th spot after the error and was left to only climb from there.
Though the issue was a stab in the heart, Bowyer was fortunate to continue to the end. Darrell Wallace Jr. suffered a similar issue early in the race and was put in the garage for the day. Bowyer, however, returned to race pace and drove up to 20th place at the line.
A top 20 isn’t much for SHR to acknowledge. The team is well capable of winning each week and dominated Sunday with Kevin Harvick. Though Bowyer has only led three races this year, they were in fairly commanding form, and only one finish outside the top 20 puts Bowyer as a dependable driver in 2018.
Also on his good side are points. With his strong stage finishes, Bowyer earned more points than SHR teammate Aric Almirola despite finishing 13 spots behind.
Sunday is one day that simply got away from the No. 14 team. They had the speed but the race slipped away due to strategy, tough passing conditions and the eventual missed shift.
Thankfully for them, speed has been on their side and this weekend at Michigan International Speedway can make for a quick bounceback out of Pennsylvania.
List of 20th-Place Finishers So Far in 2018
Daytona: Gray Gaulding
Atlanta: Alex Bowman
Las Vegas: Trevor Bayne
ISM: Trevor Bayne (2)
Auto Club: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Martinsville: William Byron
Texas: Gray Gaulding(2)
Bristol: Landon Cassill
Richmond: Ty Dillon
Talladega: DJ Kennington
Dover: Chris Buescher
Kansas: Michael McDowell
Charlotte: Kasey Kahne
Pocono: Clint Bowyer
Mid-Pack With Zach: Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing
By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Each week, Kickin’ The Tires will highlight the 20th-place finisher from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Standing as the middleman in weekends with 40-car fields, there is sure to be a story behind each one.
For the first time since Martinsville in March, a leading organization ended the day in 20th position. This time, it was Stewart-Haas Racing and Clint Bowyer, who dropped down the running order late in Sunday’s Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway.
Starting ninth, Bowyer had his most consistent day at Pocono since 2010, holding an average running position of seventh across the 160 laps. Additionally, the Martinsville winner ended the stages fourth and third, stacking up solid stage points for the regular season.
Where did it go wrong for the No. 14? Well, one of Pocono’s “tricky” additions bit hard as Bowyer missed a shift in his Busch Light Ford with five laps to go. Running top 10 at the time, he fell back to 25th spot after the error and was left to only climb from there.
Though the issue was a stab in the heart, Bowyer was fortunate to continue to the end. Darrell Wallace Jr. suffered a similar issue early in the race and was put in the garage for the day. Bowyer, however, returned to race pace and drove up to 20th place at the line.
A top 20 isn’t much for SHR to acknowledge. The team is well capable of winning each week and dominated Sunday with Kevin Harvick. Though Bowyer has only led three races this year, they were in fairly commanding form, and only one finish outside the top 20 puts Bowyer as a dependable driver in 2018.
Also on his good side are points. With his strong stage finishes, Bowyer earned more points than SHR teammate Aric Almirola despite finishing 13 spots behind.
Sunday is one day that simply got away from the No. 14 team. They had the speed but the race slipped away due to strategy, tough passing conditions and the eventual missed shift.
Thankfully for them, speed has been on their side and this weekend at Michigan International Speedway can make for a quick bounceback out of Pennsylvania.
List of 20th-Place Finishers So Far in 2018
Daytona: Gray Gaulding
Atlanta: Alex Bowman
Las Vegas: Trevor Bayne
ISM: Trevor Bayne (2)
Auto Club: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Martinsville: William Byron
Texas: Gray Gaulding(2)
Bristol: Landon Cassill
Richmond: Ty Dillon
Talladega: DJ Kennington
Dover: Chris Buescher
Kansas: Michael McDowell
Charlotte: Kasey Kahne
Pocono: Clint Bowyer