NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: So Close In April, Bowyer Eyes Talladega Win
RCR driver finished second to Johnson in tight finish of Aaron’s 499…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted October 20, 2011   Talladega, AL
Clint Bowyer missed the Chase and is leaving RCR at season's end. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
In April, still riding in the top 12 in Sprint Cup points and trying to get a grip of consistency on what was a promising season for his Richard Childress Racing team, Clint Bowyer arrived at Talladega Superspeedway fully confident he could break into the win column after three top 10s in the year’s first seven races.

Race day at Talladega turned out to be precisely what many had expected – an afternoon of tandem racing at high speeds around the 2.66-mile course. Drivers sometimes get lost in the shuffle in these circumstances, but it was clear early that Bowyer had a strong car, both while pushing and being pushed in the two-car draft.

On a day in which lead changes sent calculators spinning wildly – the total reached 88, Bowyer had the afternoon’s horse. His Chevrolet led 38 laps, 17 more than Dave Blaney, who was second on the lap-leader list. Bowyer moved to the front a remarkable 15 times as paired drivers swapped positions over and over again to keep water temperatures from rocketing in the draft.

In the end, however, Jimmie Johnson, who led only 14 laps and was in front only four times, won the race. Pushed by teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., he edged in front of Bowyer by .002 of a second – a relative eyelash – in the race’s final moments as eight drivers swept across the finish line in a tight pack.

Bowyer wound up second by one of the smallest margins in NASCAR history.

No one knew it then, but that would be Bowyer’s closest brush with victory during the season. He remains winless entering Sunday’s return race – the Good Sam Club 500 – at Talladega, having missed the Chase a few weeks before announcing that he’ll move from RCR to Michael Waltrip Racing next season.

Of the top 13 drivers in points, only Bowyer (13th) and Earnhardt Jr. (ninth) are winless this year.

Bowyer will be seeking his first victory – and a bit of redemption for April – as 12 other drivers fight for points in the Chase race.

Bowyer said he can’t be concerned with activity within the Chase group as he races at Talladega.

Eight drivers, all bunched together, race toward the checkered flag on the final lap of last year's spring race at Talladega Superspeedway. Jimmie Johnson (Bottom Right) took the win. (Photo: Getty Images)
“As soon as you try to be consciously aware of a specific individual and try to give them something to help them or whatever, you're probably putting them in more danger by not going with the flow of things and making sure everything is right,” Bowyer said. “That's kind of a tough to juggle at a track like Talladega Superspeedway."

With NASCAR rules changes entering Sunday’s race, there is expected to be slight modification in the tandem drafting, perhaps breaking up the two-car hookups more frequently.

"I am looking forward to seeing what the rule changes are going to do,” Bowyer said. “It's a step in the right direction. Do I think it will fix the two-car tandem? I really don't know. I am reluctant to answer right now. Only time will tell."

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 29 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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