Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-120):
● Started 10th, finished 10th. Earned one bonus point.
● Bowyer grabbed ninth right at the start and held that spot through the first caution on lap 42
● Despite running ninth, Bowyer said his No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was “too tight up off (the corner).”
● Pitted under caution on lap 42 for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Picked up two spots on pit road to restart in seventh.
● Climbed to sixth place by lap 63 but said his car was “chattering” badly.
● Caution on lap 107 allowed Bowyer to pit for four tires, fuel and a right-rear wedge adjustment.
● Slotted in 12th for lap-110 restart and rallied to grab 10th just before the end of the stage.
● Stayed out at the conclusion of the stage to maintain track position.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 121-240):
● Started eighth, finished ninth. Earned two bonus points.
● Bowyer grabbed seventh on the restart.
● On lap140, Bowyer keyed his mic to say, “Tight on the throttle. Car won’t rotate.” Nevertheless, he remained a solid seventh.
● By lap 177, Bowyer had dropped to ninth. “I’m plowing!” he said.
● Under green on lap 182, Bowyer brought the No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang to the pits for a scheduled, four-tires-and-fuel stop.
● After pit stops cycled through, Bowyer returned to ninth and stayed there through the end of the stage.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel with track bar and tire pressure adjustments at the conclusion of the stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 241-400):
● Started ninth, finished ninth.
● Dropped to 10th on lap-249 restart. “Plowing!” is all Bowyer needed to say on lap 253.
● Caution on lap 266 sent some drivers to pit road. Bowyer stayed out and reclaimed ninth.
● Fell to 12th on lap-269 restart, but climbed back to 10th on the following lap.
● Passed 11-time Dover race winner Jimmie Johnson on lap 312 to retake ninth.
● Made scheduled, green-flag pit stop on lap 321 for four tires and fuel. Maintained ninth place after pit stops cycled through.
● Grabbed eighth place from William Byron with less than 50 laps to, but Byron earned the spot back on lap 377.
● Maintained ninth place for the final 23 laps.
Notes:
● Bowyer earned his sixth top-10 of the season and his 15th top-10 in 27 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Dover.
● This is Bowyer’s third top-10 at Dover since joining SHR in 2017.
● Martin Truex Jr. won the Gander RV 400 to score his 21st career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Dover. His margin of victory over second-place Alex Bowman was a commanding 9.501 seconds.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 31 laps.
● Only 11 of the 37 drivers in the Gander RV 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Busch remains the championship leader after Dover with a five-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.
Clint Bowyer, Driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang:
“It was kind of a frustrating day. We were OK. I think anyone who got in the top-five was going to stay there. We lost track position on the first pit stop and never really regained any of it. It was just really tough to pass today.”
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Digital Ally 400 on Saturday, May 11 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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