FONTANA, Calif. – While his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates of Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick struggled to find the speed to be competitive in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway, speed was not a problem for Clint Bowyer who reeled in a season-best third place finish.
Bowyer started his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford from 17th, but quickly had a competitive pace that carried him into the top-10 for the first two stages, but when four of the event’s seven cautions flew within the final 20 laps of the race, Bowyer not only survived the chaos – he contended for the race win before settling for third behind pole-sitter Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski.
“It was just a good weekend,” said Bowyer. “I appreciate everybody’s hard work at Stewart-Haas Racing. Having these teammates and having this group behind you, the organization and the teamwork, it’s just amazing to be a part of it at this point in my career.
“I remember single file around here. Couldn’t really pass. Ring around the bottom.
Now, I mean, all hell breaks loose on them restarts. You’re trying to protect the bottom. They’re calling you outside. You don’t know if you’re three wide, four wide, 12 wide. It’s all because of a really wide, cool racetrack. A fast racetrack and a lot of grooves. Five different grooves to race on all day long.”
It was Bowyer’s first top-five finish since Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in August 2015 driving for Michael Waltrip Racing. It was also his best Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series outing since finishing third at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in June 2015.
“It means a lot to me to be in this 14,” Bowyer added. “I have a lot of fun with these guys. Buga (crew chief Mike Bugarewicz) and all these guys mean business. It’s a confidence thing right now, a momentum-builder and we’re getting closer. Obviously, this is a good track for me. I wanted to win that damn thing, but to come home with the wild finish and everything that it was, we’ll take it.”
Bouncing back from Daytona where he finished 32nd, the Emporia, Kan. native. has racked in four top-13 finishes, including two top-10 results on the west coast swing. And while Bowyer didn’t exactly know why he shined on Sunday and his teammates didn’t, he had an idea.
“You know, I love this racetrack. But, I mean, Kevin (Harvick)is so good here,” Bowyer said.
“I remember thinking the same thing that they probably thought last week. Where were we? Oh, at Phoenix. The 4 car (Harvick) blew my doors off and went up and finished in the top five, wherever he was, ran in the top five all day. I was struggling to run 15th. I was thinking, Are these the same cars?
“It all comes down to the communication, the setup you put in them, the teamwork you have, the track position, the effort you put in all day long.
“We all have an opportunity to do that. All of our cars at Stewart-Haas Racing, they’re all built by the same people, assembled the same way. Some days it’s your day, and some days it’s not. Some tracks suit you a little better than others.
“This has always been a fun track for me, always been a good track for me. It was like last night, Bug and I were sitting there talking. I overthink things anyway. Everybody knows me. I would just rather not think, just do it. That was what I told Bug last night. Hey, man, this is a good track for me. You got a good hotrod, you brought me a good car. Don’t overthink it. Go out and have fun. And we did.”
Jumping five positions in the championship standings, the 38-year-old heads to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway looking for his ninth Cup victory of his career, but also first with SHR and at Martinsville’s historic paperclip.
“Another one of my favorite tracks,” he said. “It’s 40 minutes from the house. You know, finally get home to see my family and everything else. To bring everybody up there, drive to the racetrack every day, sleep in your own bed, I mean, it’s just a fun, fun weekend. Fun racetrack.
“It’s old school racing at its finest. I’ve been close so many times there. It’s one that I want to win more than anything.
“With this momentum and the confidence that we take from here, maybe we can.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
