Tony Stewart got redemption for losing a race while Clint Bowyer missed his shot at redemption in California.
"My car was getting was better on the restarts," said Tony Stewart who hadn’t won at the two mile oval previously, "it’s been a tough place for us. We struggled, but, we just got better as the day went on."
"I got one (win), he got one (win), I’m happy for him," said Clint Bowyer after finishing second to Tony Stewart at the Auto Club Speedway.
It was not a reversal of New Hampshire where Stewart was leading only to run out of gas giving Bowyer the win. Bowyer would be penalized 150 points when it was determined his car was out of specs so he was looking to redeem himself with a win.
"It was a good run, I wanted to set the record straight," said Bowyer who led 40 laps and passed Jimmie Johnson on the last lap to finish second.
Jimmie Johnson stretched his points lead over Denny Hamlin with a third place with Hamlin finishing eighth. So with five races remaining it’s Johnson with a 36 point lead over Hamlin. Kevin Harvick who finished seventh is 54 down Jeff Gordon (-85), and Stewart (-107).
Johnson said "I had an up and down day," leading 22-laps, but, was snookered at the end by Bowyer for that second place.
The Roush Ford Chasers had a disaster like Greg Biffle who went out with a blown engine, teammate, Carl Edwards who lost about 13 laps when he had to change a distributor. Although his car was smoking Matt Kenseth finished 30th.
Then there was David Ragan’s incident on lap 194 taking out Kurt Busch who had started 38th and was vying for a good finish.
That caution set up the four-lap sprint to the finish. Jimmie Johnson who was second on the restart said "I think if it stayed green we were taking big chunks off Tony’s lead right before that caution came out. If it had stayed green I think there would have been a good race for the win. I was focused on 14 (Stewart)," he said as Bowyer passed him on the inside.
Denny Hamlin who had been close to a top four finish was frustrated. "I needed it to go green that last 20-laps. We were catching Johnson and those guys. I felt like we were going to finish third or fourth," he said.
As to catching Johnson for the championship Hamlin said "we are in a decent spot, we’re not in a great spot. Hamlin felt he could catch up “at this point…I can race him from here."
Clint Bowyer still with hurt in his face for the embarrassment of the penalty against him for his New Hampshire winning car failing inspection said "a good run was crucial for our race team after what happened with our win, and we got it today. But I’m really frustrated I didn’t get a win. I really, really wanted to win just to set the record straight … We’re capable of winning races."
"My car was getting was better on the restarts," said Tony Stewart who hadn’t won at the two mile oval previously, "it’s been a tough place for us. We struggled, but, we just got better as the day went on."
"I got one (win), he got one (win), I’m happy for him," said Clint Bowyer after finishing second to Tony Stewart at the Auto Club Speedway.
It was not a reversal of New Hampshire where Stewart was leading only to run out of gas giving Bowyer the win. Bowyer would be penalized 150 points when it was determined his car was out of specs so he was looking to redeem himself with a win.
"It was a good run, I wanted to set the record straight," said Bowyer who led 40 laps and passed Jimmie Johnson on the last lap to finish second.
Jimmie Johnson stretched his points lead over Denny Hamlin with a third place with Hamlin finishing eighth. So with five races remaining it’s Johnson with a 36 point lead over Hamlin. Kevin Harvick who finished seventh is 54 down Jeff Gordon (-85), and Stewart (-107).
Johnson said "I had an up and down day," leading 22-laps, but, was snookered at the end by Bowyer for that second place.
The Roush Ford Chasers had a disaster like Greg Biffle who went out with a blown engine, teammate, Carl Edwards who lost about 13 laps when he had to change a distributor. Although his car was smoking Matt Kenseth finished 30th.
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| David Ragan and Kurt Busch at 10 laps to go - image nascar.com |
Then there was David Ragan’s incident on lap 194 taking out Kurt Busch who had started 38th and was vying for a good finish.
That caution set up the four-lap sprint to the finish. Jimmie Johnson who was second on the restart said "I think if it stayed green we were taking big chunks off Tony’s lead right before that caution came out. If it had stayed green I think there would have been a good race for the win. I was focused on 14 (Stewart)," he said as Bowyer passed him on the inside.
Denny Hamlin who had been close to a top four finish was frustrated. "I needed it to go green that last 20-laps. We were catching Johnson and those guys. I felt like we were going to finish third or fourth," he said.
As to catching Johnson for the championship Hamlin said "we are in a decent spot, we’re not in a great spot. Hamlin felt he could catch up “at this point…I can race him from here."
Clint Bowyer still with hurt in his face for the embarrassment of the penalty against him for his New Hampshire winning car failing inspection said "a good run was crucial for our race team after what happened with our win, and we got it today. But I’m really frustrated I didn’t get a win. I really, really wanted to win just to set the record straight … We’re capable of winning races."