Clint Bowyer celebrates after winning Sunday’s rain shortened Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Clint Bowyer gambled.
Then he made sure he cashed the winning ticket with a determined charge on two new tires as rain threatened Michigan International Speedway.
Bowyer got the lead under caution at the end of Stage 2 of Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 when crew chief Mike Bugarewicz opted for two tires on the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.
Bowyer had to do the rest, holding off teammate Kevin Harvick after a restart on lap 126, barely preventing Harvick, who had fresh rubber on all four corners of the car, from clearing him off turn 2. Bowyer got the good fortune he needed when Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. spun in turn 2 on lap 129, causing the eighth caution of the afternoon.
Rain started almost immediately and soaked the track, forcing NASCAR to call the race after 133 of a scheduled 200 laps at the 2-mile track.
That made Bowyer the winner of a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time at Michigan and the second time this year.
With pole winner Kurt Busch finishing third behind Bowyer and Harvick, Stewart-Haas pulled off its first 1-2-3 sweep in the organization’s history.
“It took something crazy on a restart to be able to get Kevin,” a jubilant Bowyer said in a raucous victory lane celebration. “That was a gutsy call. When we went out there on two tires, I looked in the mirror and I was so far ahead of everybody else (coming off pit road), I was like, ‘Oh man, we are in trouble!’
“The rain came just in enough time. I was trying to hold him off. I was cutting him off and taking his line away pretty bad. If it wasn’t for a win, you wouldn’t be doing that. He was so much faster than me in (turns) 1 and 2. I got down in (turn) 3 and just had to take his line because that bear was coming.”
Harvick was close indeed. He was roughly one foot away from clearing Bowyer off turn 2 on the restart and picking up his sixth victory of the season.
“The 14 just gambled, rolled the dice that the rain must have been going to come, and he was able to keep me on the bottom there just by a little bit on the restart,” Harvick said. “Then it was just going to take me a few laps to work back by.
“But he did a good job hanging onto his car, and the gamble paid off for him. Look, I’ve been on both sides of this. If you’re going to have racing luck work against you, you want to at least stay on your own team.”
Kyle Busch ran fourth in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs racing Toyota, the only non-Ford driver in the top eight. Paul Menard came home fifth, his best finish of the season in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.
Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Jamie McMurray completed the top 10.
Kyle Busch retained the series lead by 75 points over Harvick in second and 98 over Logano in third.
The start of the race was delayed two-and-a-half hours by rain, and it ended when the rain returned, but the afternoon belonged to Bowyer, who was well aware of just how close his teammate came to depriving him of his 10th career victory.
“He almost cleared me off of (turn) 2, and he would have rode off into the sunset again for the 4 car,” Bowyer said of Harvick. “I was able to just get by him, because he left me room and was courteous and a good teammate.
“I tried to give him enough room in 3 and 4 but just enough that I was going to try to stay in front of him and take the air off him. That is the only thing you can really do in that situation.”
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, MI
FireKeepers Casino 400 – June 10, 2018
1. (12) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 133.
2. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 133.
3. (1) Kurt Busch, Ford, 133.
4. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 133.
5. (15) Paul Menard, Ford, 133.
6. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 133.
7. (5) Joey Logano, Ford, 133.
8. (9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 133.
9. (13) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 133.
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11. (6) Aric Almirola, Ford, 133.
12. (10) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 133.
13. (14) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 133.
14. (16) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 133.
15. (8) Erik Jones, Toyota, 133.
16. (21) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 133.
17. (25) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 133.
18. (17) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 133.
19. (28) Darrell Wallace, Jr. #, Chevrolet, 133.
20. (20) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 133.
21. (31) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 133.
22. (11) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 133.
23. (29) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 133.
24. (18) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 133.
25. (23) Michael McDowell, Ford, 133.
26. (33) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 133.
27. (32) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 133.
28. (26) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 133.
29. (7) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 133.
30. (22) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 132.
31. (34) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, 132.
32. (36) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 132.
33. (19) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 132.
34. (37) * D.J. Kennington, Chevrolet, 132.
35. (38) * Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 132.
36. (30) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 131.
37. (35) B.J. McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 131.
38. (27) David Ragan, Ford, Accident, 35.
39. (39) * Garrett Smithley(i), Chevrolet, Transmission, 1.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 132.723 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 00 Mins, 15 Secs. Margin of Victory: Caution.
Caution Flags: 8 for 30 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: Kurt Busch 1-46; R. Blaney 47-61; K. Larson 62; K. Kahne 63-71; K. Harvick 72-87; P. Menard 88-90; K. Harvick 91-122; K. Kahne 123-124; K. Harvick 125; C. Bowyer 126-133.
Leaders Summary: (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led) K. Harvick 3 times for 49 laps; Kurt Busch 1 time for 46 laps; R. Blaney 1 time for 15 laps; K. Kahne 2 times for 11 laps; C. Bowyer 1 time for 8 laps; P. Menard 1 time for 3 laps; K. Larson 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 12,42,14,4,11,2,41,24,22,10
Stage #2 Top Ten: 4,14,41,18,21,12,2,1,20,24
Top 10 in Points: 1. Kyle Busch – 664 (4 Wins); 2. Kevin Harvick – 589 (5 Wins); 3. Joey Logano – 566 (1 Win); 4. Brad Keselowski – 514; 5. Clint Bowyer – 510 (2 Wins); 6. Martin Truex, Jr. – 506 (2 Wins); 7. Kurt Busch – 493; 8. Denny Hamlin – 468; 9. Ryan Blaney – 457; 10. Kyle Larson – 443.
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