Clint Bowyer rejoined the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team as the NASCAR Nationwide Series headed to Dover International Speedway for the OneMain Financial 200. Bowyer climbed behind the wheel of the Rheem Chevrolet Impala and qualified in the fourth position for the Saturday afternoon contest. The driver fought among the top five for the entire day before finishing in the third position.
After the green flag waved, Bowyer moved forward and progressed to the third position by lap four. His momentum was slowed, however, with the day’s first caution on lap six for debris. The track was cleared, and the race resumed green-flag conditions on lap 10.
Bowyer settled into a rhythm, and by lap 31 he moved the No. 33 Chevrolet up to second. NASCAR called for a competition caution on lap 40. The driver radioed to his KHI team that his Chevrolet was running good and felt there was no need for any adjustments. Given the feedback, the team opted for four tires and fuel when they brought Bowyer to pit road for their first stop of the day under the caution.
The leaders chose varying tire strategies during the round of pit stops, and Bowyer lined up in the third position for the lap 48 restart. Back under green, the driver kept lap times equal to or faster than the race leader and worked his way up to second by lap 70.
After moving into the second spot, Bowyer relayed to his team that the Rheem Chevrolet had become loose. Opportunity for adjustments came with the third caution of the race on lap 78 for debris on the track. Bowyer made a stop for four tires and fuel as well as chassis and air-pressure adjustments. The field roared back to full speed on lap 84 with the No. 33 in the third position.
Quickly following the restart, Bowyer regained the second position as the race marched past the halfway point. As he continued to work his way around the concrete oval, the driver relayed that his Chevrolet was still fighting a loose-handling condition. A round of green-flag pit stops began on lap 157, and the No. 33 team followed suit, bringing Bowyer to pit road for right-side tires only. Just as the Rheem Chevrolet returned to the track, the yellow flag was brought out for the fourth time with 40 laps to go to the end of the race. Running in the fifth position at the time, Bowyer and his team discussed different strategies and opted to come back to pit road during the caution for four fresh tires. He maintained the fifth spot when the race returned to green with 34 laps remaining.
Bowyer was able to power his way back up to the third position immediately after the final restart. In the final laps, the No. 33 Chevrolet closed in on the second-place driver, but time expired before Bowyer could overtake the spot leaving the team to collect a third-place finish.
Paul Menard returns to the driver’s seat next weekend as the Nationwide Series heads to Kansas Speedway. Tune in to ESPN2 to watch the No. 33 Rheem/Menards team live 200 at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 8 and listen to MRN beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.