Clint Bowyer and the Jack Daniel’s racing team sent a message to all the naysayer’s Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway. Winless and seeded 12th in the Chase for the NASCAR Cup heading into Sunday’s Sylvania 300, Bowyer and company proved they weren’t planning on being also-rans in NASCAR’s 10-race playoffs.
Mr. Jack’s Crew sat on the pole, led 222 of the 300 laps and capped of their first victory in dominating fashion by beating four-time series champion Jeff Gordon to the checkered flag by nearly six-and-a-half seconds.
The convincing victory was Bowyer’s first win in 64 Cup Series tries and the first for sponsor Jack Daniel’s in its 99th race as the primary sponsor of Richard Childress Racing’s (RCR) No. 07 Chevrolet.
The stellar performance catapulted the Emporia, Kan., native from 12th to fourth in the Cup Series point standings with nine races remaining before the champion is crowned in November at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Bowyer is a scant 10 points behind third-place Tony Stewart and just 15 back of Gordon and Jimmie Johnson who sit atop the scoring pylon heading into next weekend’s stop at Dover (Del. ) International Speedway.
Following a whirlwind tour of New York City on Wednesday and Thursday, Bowyer was relieved to arrive at the comfortable confines of New Hampshire’s one-mile oval on Thursday evening. The Jack Daniel’s Chevy was the second-fastest machine in Friday’s first practice session and looked to be a threat for the pole later that afternoon.
The 28-year-old driver didn’t disappoint after he blistered the speedway in 29.206 seconds (130.412 mph) to earn his second-career pole position.
Rain washed out Saturday’s twin practice sessions and the 43-car field was forced to start the race without a warm up following time trials.
Chamber of commerce weather greeted the estimated 101,000 ticket holders and, when the green flag waved, Bowyer quickly jumped out to a nearly three-second lead during the race’s opening 20 circuits.
NASCAR displayed the day’s first yellow flag on lap 35 and Bowyer headed to the pit lane to the attention on Mr. Jack’s Crew two trips later. The sophomore driver alerted crew chief Gil Martin the Jack Daniel’s Impala SS felt good and no adjustments were needed other than four fresh tires and a full tank of fuel. Bowyer’s over-the-wall crew heeded the call and got their driver in and out of the pits with the lead.
He continued to pace the field through lap 69 when he pitted again after Ward Burton made contact with the turn one wall. The Jack Daniel’s Chevy still handled like a dream and once again, Martin called for just four fresh Goodyear tires and fuel.
Back under green, now in fourth after the top-three cars, of Ryan Newman, Gordon and Tony Stewart, opted for only two tires, Bowyer was in high-speed pursuit of the front. By lap 75, he was back in third, second six laps later and reeled in Stewart for the lead on lap 109.
He continued on the point for the next 32 trips around New Hampshire’s flat oval before pitting again, this time under green-flag conditions on lap 141. After another pit stop with no changes other than tires and fuel Bowyer was back out front, three seconds ahead of second-place Johnson, once green-flag stops cycled through the 43-car field.
He gave up the lead following the day’s fourth caution on lap 164 after pitting for right-side tires. A handful of cars opted to stay on the track during the yellow flag but Bowyer promptly tracked them down and was back in front by lap 187.
From there, Bowyer would only relinquish the lead one more time during the day’s second round of green-flag pit stops and was back on top once service cycled through the field.
As the race wound down, Bowyer kept up the pace and continued to distance the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet from the rest of the field. When the checkered flag waved, Bowyer was more than six seconds to the good and finally notched the highly-coveted first Cup Series victory of his young career.
Gordon was second followed by Stewart, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Bowyer’s RCR teammates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton finished 17th and 18th, respectively.
NASCAR’s senior division returns to Dover, Del., this weekend for 400 laps at the “Monster Mile” and round two of the Chase for the NASCAR Cup.
Live coverage of the Dodge Dealers 400 from Dover International Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, September 23 at 1 p. m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The race will be televised on ABC and broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for round two of NASCAR’s 10-race playoffs will be televised live on ESPN2 Friday, September 21 at 3 p. m. EDT. MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will provide live qualifying updates.
CLINT BOWYER QUOTES: “It’s just incredible to even be a part of the Cup Series and to be able to drive these cars and have a team like (crew chief) Gil (Martin) has put together with the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet. It’s an honor and a privilege and it’s something I owe (team owner) Richard (Childress) a lot for and I wish he were here to celebrate with us. But, nonetheless, we finally got it done for him and everyone at Jack Daniel’s. We did our job and did what we were supposed to do. It’s just such a fun thing to be able to celebrate with these guys. They have worked so hard week in and week out and their families have sacrificed a lot. To be able to finally win a race and celebrate with them means a lot. “
GIL MARTIN QUOTES: “The only thing we did was fire Goodyears at that thing. We didn’t make any air pressure adjustments or anything. The Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet just liked everything it had under it. When you’ve got a car that fast, it’s your race to mess up. So it makes it that much worse when you’re passing lapped cars and everything else at the rate of speed he was doing it. It’s harder to hold yourself back. Clint did a great job. ”
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