8B
SPORTS
NASCAR
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, MAY 5, 2008
Clint Bowyer wins Crown Royal 400 Sprint Cup
BY JENNA FRYER ASSOCIATED PRESS
RICHMOND, Va. - Richard Childress always tells his drivers that luck occurs when preparation meets opportunity.
Clint Bowyer proved the boss right on Saturday night.
Bowyer was a surprise winner at Richmond International Raceway, stealing a win that first seemed destined for Denny Hamlin, then Dale Earnhardt Jr. Neither made it to Victory Lane, though, because of a wild ending that saw three drivers denied the trip Bowyer made to Victory Lane.
"He was prepared tonight, and the opportunity was there," Childress said after Bowyer's first win of the season.
Hamlin, the hometown favorite, ran away with the race and led a record 381 of the 400 laps in search of his first cup victory at Richmond. Nobody came close to challenging him until a leaking right front tire allowed Earnhardt and Kyle Busch to catch him.
that regrouped the field and gave Busch a chance to race Earnhardt for the win.
The two drivers split Hamlin as they moved past him, with Earnhardt emerging as the leader with 18 laps to go. Hamlin's tire finally failed with eight to go, and NASCAR accused him of intentionally bringing out the caution
Dale Earnhardt Jr., (88) leads Kyle Busch (18) to the start finish line in the closing moments of the NASCAR Crown Royal 400 Sprint Cup auto race at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., Saturday. The two got tangled in turn three later in the same lap.
The two staged a strong battle for the lead when the race resumed, but contact between the two cars in turn three sent Earnhardt into the wall.
"Everybody probably is racing around the race track scared to death of wrecking Dale Earnhardt Jr., so why wouldn't I be any different?" Busch said. "But that was just a product of good hard racing and I apologize that it happened and I hate it that it did. If I wanted to do it deliberately I would have waited until the last lap where I probably still could have won the race."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Busch and into the front for the first time all night. Bowyer then held off Busch on a final restart to score his first cup victory of the season, second of his career.
"They were putting on a show for a while, they were racing hard and that's what racing at Richmond is all about — it just didn't work out," Bowyer said. "I told the cops when they were escorting me (after), I told them they better get over there and escort Kyle Busch out of here.
Without seeing a replay, Earnhardt guessed that it wasn't deliberate. But as his winless streak reached 72 races on the two-year anniversary of his last victory, he wondered if Busch would need security help exiting the track amidst the angry Earnhardt fans.
Bowyer used the opportunity to slide past both Earnhardt and
Clint Bowyer holds the winners trophy in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Crown Royal 400 Sprint Cup auto race at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., Saturday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Our LuXURY Amenities! All inclusive rent and utilities Private shuttle bus to campus every 40 minutes Resort style pool Private bedrooms and bathrooms Free continental breakfast
Legends Place APARTMENTS 4101 W.24th Place-Lawrence, Kansas 66047
Directions: Just west of HyVee (on Clinton Pkwy), just west of Kasold.
785-856-5848
www.LegendsPlace.com
---
---
5