Bowyer easily wins opener in Cup chase
LOUDON, N.H. -- Clint Bowyer was seeded last in the Chase for the championship field. With zero Nextel Cup wins and hardly any laps led, he went off as a 30-to-1 long shot to win the series title.
One race into the Chase, Bowyer has turned into a legitimate contender.
He raced to the first victory of his Cup career on Sunday by embarrassing the field at New Hampshire International Speedway, where he started from the pole and led 222 of 300 laps while beating Jeff Gordon to the finish line by over six seconds.
"Once you get into the Chase, you've got to go for broke," Bowyer said.
Bowyer started the Chase as the 12th seed, the only driver in the Chase field without a victory. He'd never finished higher than third before, and had led just 196 laps in his Cup career -- 84 this season.
But NASCAR's scoring system rewards consistency, and Bowyer earned his spot in the title hunt with 12 top-10 finishes. Now he's got that coveted win, and it pushed him up eight spots in the standings to fourth.
He trails Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who are tied for the lead, by just 15 points.
"This proves we earned a spot and we're here for a reason and just so happy to be a part of the Chase," Bowyer said. "It's such a neat deal and, hey, this is the Nextel Cup, baby."
Gordon, the four-time series champion, finished second and was followed by two-time series champion Tony Stewart. Kyle Busch was fourth and followed by Martin Truex Jr., Johnson and Matt Kenseth as Chase drivers took the top seven spots.
Casey Mears was eighth, followed by Ryan Newman and J.J. Yeley.
The Chase opener wasn't so kind to Carl Edwards (12th), Denny Hamlin (15th), Kevin Harvick (17th), Jeff Burton (18th) and Kurt Busch (25th). Although they were all running at the end, it's going to take top-10 finishes to decide this championship, and the competition is off to a tremendous headstart.
Johnson and Gordon are tied for the points lead, and Stewart is 10 points back. Bowyer moved into fourth place, 15 points out. Kyle Busch jumped four spots to fifth and is 35 points behind. Truex is sixth, 40 points back, and Kenseth is seventh.
"We need to run better than that, obviously, to contend for a championship," said Kenseth, 54 points behind.