Bowman fights loose wheel, relegated to a 32nd-place finish

Alex Bowman and the No. 23 Dr Pepper Toyota Camry team finished 32nd at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Saturday night.  After working hard to maintain his position on the lead lap and race inside the top 25 throughout the first half of the race, Bowman suffered a loose wheel just past the halfway point that forced his BK Racing team to pit road losing valuable track position. 

Bowman led his BK Racing organization to the green flag in the 27th position.  Despite a tight in, loose off condition, Bowman fought hard to stay on the lead lap during the first half of the event.  Taking advantage of both the lucky dog and wave around rules to regain lost track position, the Sunoco Rookie contender was able to maintain his position within the top 25 throughout most of the night. 

 

Shortly past the halfway mark, while running just outside the top 20, Bowman reported a bad vibration in his car.  After several trips down pit road to diagnose the problem, the Dr Pepper team found a loose right rear wheel.  Unfortunately, Bowman had already sustained damage to the hub of his Toyota Camry, which required further attention from his BK Racing pit crew.  The incident caused the team to lose valuable track position and relegated Bowman to a 32nd-place finish. 

 

“We had a great race going for our Dr Pepper Toyota Camry team,” commented Bowman.  “I think we could’ve easily raced for a top-20 or top-25 finish tonight.  Unfortunately, we had to spend too much time on pit road before and after diagnosing the loose wheel and damaged hub, and we just lost too much track position.  With laps this quick, it’s difficult to regain any lost track position.  My team did a great job making strategy calls to keep us competitive throughout the early stages of the race.  I think we definitely saw some improvement on our short track program this weekend, and I look forward to continuing that improvement in the weeks to come.”

 

BK Racing PR