After two weekends away from the race track, the NASCAR Nationwide Series returned to action with a Saturday afternoon showdown in the Lone Star State. Clint Bowyer rejoined the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) to kick off the final three-race stretch and drove the Rheem Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway.
Starting from the fifth position, Bowyer used the opening laps to charge toward the front of the field. The driver reached the second position by the time the first caution flag of the day waved on lap three for a car spinning on the frontstretch. The 200-lap contest returned to green-flag conditions on lap nine, and the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet raced side-by-side with the No. 60 car for several laps before settling into the second position behind KHI teammate Elliott Sadler in the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet.
On lap 18 Bowyer surged past Sadler for the lead, but by lap 22, he reported that his Chevrolet was running hot and slid back to the second spot. The No. 33 continued to race around the 1.5-mile oval in second as green-flag pit stops began on lap 47. Bowyer inherited the lead on lap 51, and on lap 52, the driver brought the Rheem machine to pit road where the KHI crew bolted on four tires, added fuel and made air-pressure and chassis adjustments. Bowyer returned to the track, and by lap 58, reached the third position.
The No. 33 moved into second on lap 67 and remained in the position until the field slowed for the second caution of the day on lap 91 for debris. Bowyer radioed to the KHI crew that the Rheem Chevrolet had become free off the turns as the previous run had progressed. Given the feedback, the team called the driver to pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to give the car more grip. After a quick stop, Bowyer lined up in the second position for the restart on lap 96.
Bowyer maintained second as the event reached the halfway mark but relayed to his crew that his car was still very loose as he race around the track. On lap 114 a car erupted into smoke in turns one and two, bringing out the yellow flag for the third time,providing an opportunity for the KHI team to make a pit stop for adjustments. Bowyer made his way down pit road and when he arrived in his stall, the Rheem crew changed four tires, added fuel and made a chassis adjustment to help with the car’s handling. The No. 2 of Sadler narrowly beat the No. 33 off of pit road leaving Bowyer to restart the race in the third position on lap 119.
Just as quickly as the field returned to green, the No. 33 went three wide under the two cars in front and took over the lead in turns one and two. Bowyer fought to hold on to the lead but reported that the Rheem Chevrolet was still loose. On lap 125, he slid back to third.
The Emporia, Kan., native held on to third until he relinquished the position to start the second wave of scheduled green-flag pit stops on lap 165. Bowyer brought the No. 33 to pit road for four tires and fuel in addition to air-pressure and chassis adjustments as a continued effort to ease the handling issues he was fighting. The driver returned to the track and with 25 laps to go, had the KHI Chevrolet up to second.
Debris spotted on the track on lap 180 brought the field under caution for a fourth time. The team elected not to pit and Bowyer remained in the second position as the race returned to full speed with 16 laps remaining to the end. Back to green, the driver fought to hold on to second but fell to third just as a vehicle made contact with the wall in turn four causing NASCAR to wave the fifth yellow flag with 11 laps to go. Green-flag conditions returned after the quick caution on lap 193 with the Rheem Chevrolet in third. In the final laps, Bowyer worked to move toward the front but was shuffled back to finish in the fourth position.
The No. 33 KHI team will head further west next week for the Nationwide Series second to last event of the season at Phoenix International Raceway. Tune in to ESPN2 at 3:30 p.m. ET and listen live to MRN at 3:00 p.m. ET.