Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-130):
● Clint Bowyer started 16th and finished 13th.
● The No. 14 Clint Bowyer Tribute Ford Mustang climbed to 13th by the lap-60 competition caution.
● Bowyer spun on lap 73 after contact with Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola.
● The No. 14 pitted twice during the caution and restarted 29th.
● Bowyer continued to show speed and raced in fifth on lap 108 after staying on the track during a caution.
● Bowyer made contact with the wall in the closing laps of the stage before finishing 13th.
● The No. 14 crew spent extra time making repairs during the stage break.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 131-260):
● Bowyer started 31st and finished 12th.
● The No. 14 Clint Bowyer Tribute Ford Mustang slowly worked his way back to the top breaking into the top 10 on lap 200.
● Bowyer made a late pit stop in the stage and drove back to 12th.
● During the stage break, Bowyer pitted for four tires and handling adjustments to help his car on the longer runs.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 261-500):
● Bowyer started 12th and finished eighth.
● The No. 14 Clint Bowyer Tribute Ford Mustang raced around the top-10 for most of the stage.
● Bowyer restarted the race in sixth with 97 laps remaining. He was also on his final set of new tires.
● Bowyer claimed fifth with 87 laps to go with reminders on the radio to be gentle with his tires.
● Bowyer moved to fourth with 80 laps to go and held fifth when the caution came out with 60 to go.
● The No. 14 pitted during the caution and resumed the race in ninth with 51 to go.
● Bowyer held his position in the final laps on the older tires and finished eighth.
Notes:
● Bowyer earned his 12th top-10 of the season and his 17th top-10 in 30 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville.
● This was Bowyer’s second straight top-20 at Martinsville. He finished 17th in the series’ previous visit to the track in June.
● Chase Elliott won the Xfinity 500 to score his 10th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Martinsville. His margin of victory over second-place Ryan Blaney was 6.577 seconds.
● There were 12 caution periods for a total of 83 laps. Only 17 of the 39 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Clint Bowyer Tribute Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Early on we had about a 20-lap car today. You had to pass everyone in the first 20 laps or you weren’t going to pass them. We worked hard and got it rolling there at the end. It’s always fun to race here. This is one of the tracks I’m going to miss.”
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series season finale is Sunday, Nov. 8 at Phoenix Raceway. The championship race starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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