Bowyer: Victory at Richmond ‘definitely wasn’t expected’
Emporia native comes through with 2nd career Cup victory
By Michael Ashford (Contact)
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Associated Press
Clint Bowyer crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday. Kyle Busch (18) finished second and Mark Martin (8) finished third.
Clint Bowyer found out Saturday night that if you really want to be successful in NASCAR, it doesn’t hurt to get a little lucky every now and then.
The Emporia native won a wild race at Richmond International Speedway after it looked for all the world that Denny Hamlin, then Dale Earnhardt Jr., would make the trip into Victory Lane.
But when Hamlin — who led 381 of 400 laps — ran into tire problems and then Earnhardt got nudged into the wall by Kurt Busch, it was Bowyer who seized the opportunity before him.
“We had a good car, but it definitely wasn’t expected. Things happen sometimes, and that’s what it takes,” Bowyer said on Sunday. “I’ve said time and time again, ‘If you can run in the top five, you never know what’s going to happen. If you keep yourself in the top five week in and week out, the wins will come.’ That’s what happened.
“The misfortune happened, and we were there to take it. That’s all you can do.”
For a majority of the race, it appeared Hamlin, the hometown favorite, would get his first Cup victory. Nobody came close to challenging him until a leaking right front tire allowed Earnhardt and Busch to catch him.
The Associated Press
Emporia native Clint Bowyer holds the winner’s trophy in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Crown Roylal 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., on Saturday.
The two drivers split Hamlin as they moved past him, with Earnhardt emerging as the leader with 18 laps to go. Hamlin’s tire finally failed with eight to go, and NASCAR accused him of intentionally bringing out the caution that regrouped the field and gave Busch a chance to race Earnhardt for the win.
“You can’t whine about it. It just wasn’t meant to be,” Hamlin said in a story by The Associated Press. “God didn’t want me to win today.”
Earnhardt and Busch staged a strong battle for the lead when the race resumed, but contact between the two cars in turn three sent Earnhardt into the wall.
“After the 11 (Hamlin) had trouble, those two were racing awful hard,” Bowyer said. “It was bound to happen with as hard as they were racing. But, that’s what Richmond’s all about. It puts on a good show, and that’s why people pay to watch.”
Bowyer made the most of his shot, sliding past Earnhardt and Busch to take the lead for the first time after starting 31st, then held off Busch on a restart to claim his first Cup victory of the season and just his second overall.
“We were definitely a fast car, but the 11 was definitely the dominant race car,” Bowyer said. “As competitive and as close as the racing is these days in this series, it’s so hard to win. To be able to get that first-win-of-the-season monkey off your back and to be able to get some momentum and confidence on our team’s side, look what it did for us in the Chase last year. I hope it does the same thing this year.”
With the victory, Bowyer moved from seventh to fourth in the Chase for the Cup standings. He now has 1,372 points, just 123 back of the leader, Busch (1,495), who wound up finishing second in Saturday’s race.
The victory seemingly couldn’t have come at a better time for Bowyer, who will be in Emporia this week for a charity golf tournament he is holding on Tuesday at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course.
The golf tournament is the first-ever Clint Bowyer Charity Golf Event, which will help set up a trust fund at the Emporia Community Foundation to support community needs.
“We’ve got something to celebrate come Tuesday for the golf tournament,” Bowyer said. “It’s always fun to come back to Emporia, but it’s even more fun when you’ve got something to celebrate. We’re going to have a good time for a good cause on Tuesday. I can’t wait to get back there and see everybody and have a little celebration, too.”
• Jenna Fryer of The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Posted by dantheman (anonymous) on May 6, 2008 at 1:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Congrats to You Clint and your Team. Keep it up and keep racing like you have been and you will win the Championship. Good Luck the rest of the year.
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