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Go Bowling 400 Race Report

05.08.16

Go Bowling 400 Race Report

Date: May 7, 2016
Event: Go Bowling 400 (Round 11 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 23rd/20th (Running, completed 265 of 267 laps)
Point Standing: 25th (188 points)
Winner:  Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

 

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished 20th at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City during Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

The No. 10 team made several adjustments to correct handling issues throughout the evening, but despite the crew’s strong efforts, the Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet was never fully dialed in. Patrick lost track position early in the race, but she made a comeback within the last 50 laps and finished three spots higher than her starting position.

Patrick was only 13 laps into the race when she reported a tight-handling condition to crew chief Billy Scott. She struggled to maintain track position and was shuffled back several spots before the first caution on lap 22. The team made its initial round of adjustments to wedge and air pressure during the caution.

Additional adjustments were made during cautions on laps 56 and 102, and during a scheduled green-flag stop on lap 165. Patrick continued to fight ill handling through lengthy green-flag runs, but the issues improved slightly as the race closed in on 200 laps. The team then adjusted its pit strategy for tires and fuel during the remaining stops.

Patrick’s 20th-place finish marks her fourth top-20 of the season and her third in eight career starts at Kansas. She led once for two laps.

“Overall it wasn’t a bad day for the Nature’s Bakery team,” Patrick said. “I thought the guys did a great job on pit road and made good calls with adjustments. I feel confident we could have seen a better finish if we had more opportunities to come to pit road earlier in the evening.”

Kevin Harvick, in the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Saturday night at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City by finishing second in the Go Bowling 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Harvick’s runner-up finish, after starting from the 26th position, marked his third top-two, fifth top-five and ninth top-10 in 11 races this season. It was also his fifth top-five and 10th top-10 finish in 21 career starts at Kansas.

Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet SS for SHR, started fourth and finished third. It was Busch’s third top-five and 10th top-10 this season, and his second top-five and seventh top-10 in 21 career Sprint Cup starts at Kansas. It was also his 231st top-10 in 551 career Sprint Cup starts.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 12th in just his third race back from injury for his second top-12 in a row. He led once for 12 laps during Saturday night’s race.

Kyle Busch won the Go Bowling 400 to score his 19th career Sprint Cup victory, his third of the season and his first at Kansas.

Harvick finished 1.112 seconds behind Busch in the runner-up spot, with Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Blaney rounding out the top-five. Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 30 laps, with five drivers failing to finish the 267-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval.

With round 11 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings with 390, four ahead of second-place Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch is fifth with 350 points, 40 points out of first. Patrick is 25th with 188 points, 202 out of first. Stewart is 37th with 87 points, and currently sits 59 points behind 30th-place Regan Smith. Stewart is hoping to win a race over the course of the next 17 races and make it within the top-30 in the standings in order to earn a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff in his final season.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the AAA 400 Drive for Autism on Sunday, May 15, at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.