Seventh-Place Finish for Bowyer, Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Team in Texas
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Clint Bowyer's strong performance in
Sunday's Dickies 500 resulted in a seventh-place effort and the
Cheerios/Hamburger Helper team's 15th top-10 finish of the 2009
season.
Bowyer maintains the 15th position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point
standings with just two races remaining in the 2009 season.
Bowyer recorded the fastest time in Friday's opening practice
session and, later that afternoon, ran a lap of 28.428 seconds at an
average speed of 189.954 mph to place him 10th on the starting grid for
Sunday's race. Bowyer continued to show the strength of his
Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet in Saturday's two practice
sessions, recording the 12th- and 17th-fastest times, respectively.
The Emporia, Kan., native kept his Impala SS running inside the top 10
from the onset of the race, and ran as high as sixth at lap 53 before
hitting pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop. Happy with the
handling of the Cheerios/Hamburger Helper machine, Bowyer ordered no
changes, just routine service of four tires and fuel.
As the sun began to set over the 1.5-mile speedway, Bowyer's
Chevrolet began to push in the center of the turns. Crew chief Shane
Wilson called for adjustments that kept the Cheerios/Hamburger Helper
Chevrolet in tune with the changing track conditions, and flawless work
by the Helping Hands pit crew helped Bowyer keep his track position over
the course of the 334-lap event.
As the race neared the finish, Wilson made a gutsy call to bring Bowyer
to pit road for their final scheduled stop of the day at lap 301.
Knowing the majority of the race leaders would be short on fuel, Wilson
hoped the race would continue under green-flag conditions and, by pitting
early, it would sequence Bowyer ahead of his fellow competitors near the
conclusion of the race. The strategy paid off, as the No. 33 rose
lap-by-lap on the scoring pylon, taking the checkered flag seventh.
Kurt Busch was able to stretch his fuel mileage to pick up his second win
of the 2009 season. Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Richard
Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five
finishers.
Bowyer's other RCR teammates Jeff Burton and Casey Mears finished
ninth and 21st, respectively.
As the season winds down, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series continues west as
the division returns to Avondale, Ariz., for the penultimate stop on the
2009 schedule.
ABC's live television coverage of the Checker O'Reilly Auto
Parts 500 from Phoenix International Raceway will begin Sunday, Nov. 15
at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The event will also be broadcast
live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
Qualifying for the 35th points-paying race on the 36-race tour is
scheduled to take the green flag on Friday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. EST and
will be telecast live on ESPN2. MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will
carry live qualifying updates.
CLINT BOWYER QUOTE
"Our Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevy was tight all day. Shane (Wilson,
crew chief) made a call to short pit for fuel in order to make it to the
end. The cards fell in our favor and were able to grab a seventh-place
finish. Wish we could have had a better finish but, all-in-all, it's a
good result and another top 10 to add to our 2009 resume."
-credit: rcr
