Clint Bowyer admits he made a mistake in choosing wrong lane at the end of Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer said he probably should have chosen the inside lane instead of the outside lane while leading on a restart with two laps remaining in regulation of the Daytona 500 Sunday.
Bowyer wanted drafting help from RCR teammate Kevin Harvick, even though Harvick’s team had told Bowyer that Harvick’s car was much stronger on the inside lane than on the outside. Bowyer was told that if Harvick got an opening on the inside he would take it.
But Bowyer felt so strongly about needing help from Harvick, he opted for the top lane with Harvick behind him. Bowyer got a good jump and then tried to go low, got no push and then Harvick passed him.
“I probably should have stayed on the bottom,” said Bowyer, who led 37 laps. “The car was fast all day long. Man, I wanted to win this thing. They gave me the car to do it. I think I made a mistake there. I wanted my teammate behind me. I knew he didn’t like it on the outside. I just made a bad decision right there.”
Harvick, who led 41 laps, was the leader for the first of the two green-white-checkered restarts but couldn’t hold on to the lead, winding up seventh while Bowyer was fourth.
“It was a fun day,” Bowyer said. “The [car] was good. It wasn’t quite what I thought it would be. Greg [Biffle] and I worked good all day together. He had a strong car and we ran up front all day. I had a good time – just fell short.”
For Bowyer it was another Daytona 500 where he came close to winning but had to settle for finishing outside the top three.
“This is my second in a row fourth-place finish,” Bowyer said. “I’m trying to get it a little better.”
