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.
In the opening “real” race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, there were quite a few unknowns to sift through before the green flag flew.
For Alex Bowman and Hendrick Motorsports, one mystery was the performance of the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and its fight against Ford and Toyota. That question was answered with some disappointment in Sunday’s Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500, as the No. 88 team came home 20th in the first 1.5-mile track of the season while Ford dominated and Toyota contended.
A week after winning the pole for the Daytona 500, Sunday lacked the flair to match such an achievement for Bowman specifically. The Arizona native made his third Cup start at Atlanta and it ended close to where it started, finishing 20th after qualifying 18th for the 500-miler.
Racing on a track surface as daunting and elderly as Atlanta, Bowman fought both sides of tough driving conditions as well as a tire issue mid-race.
“Our Axalta Camaro ZL1 battled loose and tight conditions throughout,” Bowman said. “When our right-side tire went down, that really hurt our position on track. But this team worked hard on adjusting the car every single pit stop.”
Despite the comeback, a top 20 isn’t necessarily Item No. 1 for a team like HMS. On Sunday, however, it was the norm, as teammates William Byron and Jimmie Johnson sandwiched Bowman in the finishing order in 18th and 27th. Chase Elliott was the team’s representative, squeaking out a top 10 in 10th. Still a disappointing result in Elliott’s words.
But some of this can come down to track surface and how distinctive Atlanta is compared to the rest of the 1.5-milers on the schedule. With Las Vegas Motor Speedway next up, the fresher and much faster oval will offer another look into what we can really see from HMS and Chevrolet.
“We will learn from this weekend and move on to Vegas next week,” Bowman said.
List of 20th-Place Finishers So Far in 2018
Daytona: Gray Gaulding
Atlanta: Alex Bowman
The Daytona pole was another what we call a NASCAR moment ala Danica’s pole. These young new drivers will be ok because they will eventually win but it’s already time for the media to back off shoving them down the fan’s throats. Time to quit thinking that the vets are going to roll over and play dead. Heard Jeff Burton last night talking about all of the young talent in the K&N Pro Series waiting their turn. Got news for them. There are only forty spots available and even though the youth movement appears to be the deal theren’t many oldsters like Matt up there.
I wish the media would also quit trying to make me believe that the Camero is a totally new car and looks like the street version. It isn’t and doesn’t. The car got a new nose and decals. From the windshield back it is just like the Fusion and Camry.