Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-55):
● Clint Bowyer started third and finished 34th.
● Bowyer raced in the top-three in the opening laps.
● Bowyer’s car suffered severe damage in a lap-10 accident when two cars in front of him collided and caused a chain-reaction wreck.
● The No. 14 pit crew made significant repairs during multiple stops under caution to return Bowyer to the track on the lead lap.
● Bowyer kept minimum speed until bodywork cut his right-front tire, requiring him to return to pit lane for repairs.
● Bowyer lost four laps while repairs were made, and he returned to the track in 34th.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 56-110):
● Bowyer started 34th and finished 33rd.
● Bowyer predicted that if they could keep the car on the track it would gain 10 spots before the end of the race, given the chance of another accident.
● The field put Bowyer a fifth lap down under green, and he finished the stage in 33rd.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 111-188):
● Bowyer started 33rd and finished 29th.
● Bowyer stayed at the back of the field, avoiding involvement in another accident.
● Bowyer’s prediction fell just a bit short, but two late-race accidents allowed him to move up to 29th.
Notes:
● Chase Elliott won the GEICO 500 to score his fourth career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Talladega.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
● Only 17 of the 40 drivers in the GEICO 500 finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Busch remains the championship leader after Talladega with a 15-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.
Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Toco Warranty Ford Mustang:
“We started great and our Toco Warranty Ford was pretty racy, but I started to see what was about to happen and tried to get out of that pack. I should have just pulled onto the apron and just stopped, but I couldn’t, and they wrecked and took us out. It’s pretty sad. I’d like to have seen how we could have raced today.”
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Gander RV 400 on Sunday, May 5 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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