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SHR feeling confident after strong Sunday at Daytona

From a performance standpoint, Stewart-Haas Racing’s transition from Chevy to Ford in 2017 appeared fairly seamless on Sunday.

Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Russell LaBounty / NKP / Motorsport Images

Brad Keselowski, Team Penske Ford, Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Danica Patrick, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing
Clint Bowyer, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, crew chief Rodney Childers
Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in trouble

After thrashing in the off-season, the SHR teams exhibited a solid showing behind the wheels of the Ford Fusions.

Clash performance

Danica Patrick led the contingent in the rain-delayed Advance Auto Parts Clash earlier in the day with a fourth-place finish. Patrick’s finish was the top for a female in the event and equalled her previous best result in a stock car, set during at Las Vegas in 2011 while on the Xfinity Series tour. 

“I will say that I got a little lucky, but there’s a lot of that in speedway racing,” Patrick said. “It was a nice way to start things off in the TaxAct Ford today. These Fords seem pretty fast. Roush Yates (Engines) does a great job. 

“I got dropped back in the very back for a little bit, but once they started shuffling around, I got a big run. I felt fast, but it’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time and having the right help behind you, too. It got harder and harder toward the end of the race with fewer cars out there, but we were in the right place at the right time.”

Kevin Harvick finished fifth in the Clash, providing Ford Performance with three drivers among the top-five including winner Joey Logano. 

Bowyer impresses with qualifying run

Although Logano took home the hardware earlier in the day, it would be hard to find a Ford driver as thrilled as Clint Bowyer. The SHR newcomer rocketed to the top of the Daytona 500 qualifying speed chart momentarily in his No. 14 Ford debut with a speed of 192.571mph. Bowyer’s lap held up for fourth among the 42 contenders.

“It’s a great effort, considering everything these guys have gone through all season long, switching manufacturers and everything that goes with that,” Bowyer said. “That’s a lot. That’s a huge undertaking and these guys did it without fail. I mean, it was right where they left off and we gained on it. The Ford bunch and the Roush Yates horsepower I knew was gonna be something we could lean on, it was gonna be an exception for us, and it was. 

“We just came up a little bit short, but that’s two of our cars in the top seven. I watched Kevin in that Clash. I liked what I saw there. He could push and move the 2 and the 22. On a track like this those are your teammates and we’re gonna work together and win this damn thing. That’s what we’re here for.”  

After Bowyer finished a career-low 27th in the standings last season with the now defunct HScott Motorsports, he was encouraged knowing he has a contending car for the most prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar.

“It’s Daytona. I know it’s no big deal, but it feels good to be competitive again,” Bowyer said. “I was down here last year and we were way off the pace. It was crushing because you know deep down you don’t even have a chance, and when you’ve got a car like this – a hot rod like this and a team like this – I’ve got a chance.”

Harvick feeling confident

Harvick, who won the Daytona 500 in 2007, posted the seventh fastest lap (192.189mph). Harvick said the speed of the No. 4 Ford will help him rest easy until the Can-Am Duel 150-mile qualifiers on Thursday.

“The confidence is high just because a of how fast our Ford is today,” Harvick said. “So I think once we got the balance and have an idea now of where the balance needs to be we can get the handling right, but speed is not an issue.” 

Kurt Busch experienced an unfortunate incident when Jimmie Johnson lost control of his car in the Clash and took out the No. 41 Ford. Busch finished 17th. Although Busch has looked forward to returning to the Blue Oval Camp, his first outing did not go according to plan. In qualifying, Busch’s lap of 191.420mph was 22nd quick.

“Everything felt good up until that run,” Busch said. “I thought we were gonna have more speed, but we know this race comes down to handling and strategic pit stops as well as drafting lanes.  We’re gonna continue to work hard and give it the best effort we’ve got.”

Patrick posted a speed of 191.318mph in qualifying, which held up for 24th. Overall, she was pleased with the Fords. 

“We would have loved to have been faster, but I’m not worried,” said Patrick, who won the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500 before finishing eighth. “The most important thing is that the car is good in the draft and the situations that I needed to be in as far as the ability to suck up to cars and my experience this morning with the Clash is that it was really good top-end, especially when we get drafting and really going, so I’m not really worried.

“We’re gonna spend a lot more time at a lot higher RPM and I think that the Fords have a lot of power there.” 

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