Bowyer Wins At Charlotte By Saving On Fuel

Saving fuel over the final 56 laps of the closing green-flag run, Clint Bowyer snookered his Chase for the Sprint Cup rivals in winning his third race of the season and the eighth of his career. Bowyer, who won for the first time at Charlotte and the first time on an intermediate speedway, beat Denny Hamlin to the finish line by .417 seconds.

Jimmie Johnson, who like Hamlin and Bowyer was saving fuel over the final run, came home third. The top three finishers trimmed a significant portion off Brad Keselowski's series lead.

Keselowski ran out of fuel before his next-to-last pit stop and finished 11th. Keselowski leads Johnson by seven points and third-place Hamlin by 15 at the midpoint of the Chase. Bowyer climbed to fourth in the standings, 28 points back.

Bowyer moved from Richard Childress Racing to Michael Waltrip Racing this year, and the depth of success in their first season tog

ether has been a pleasant surprise.

Subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was sidelined by a concussion, Regan Smith turned in a strong performance in the early going of the first race without an Earnhardt since 1979 and the first race without a driver from North Carolina since 1961.
Smith ran as high as ninth and was firmly in the 10th spot when his engine expired on Lap 61, ending his first run for Hendrick Motorsports.

Drivers will take the track at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.