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Bowyer hangs on to win

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By RICK HARMON

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 4, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH - Clint Bowyer had started nine Nationwide Series races at Daytona International Speedway, finishing in the top 10 seven times. But his best finish was third twice, including the season-opening race in February.

So when a wreck occurred on the first lap of a green-white-checkered finish in the Subway Jalapeno 250 on Friday, Bowyer screamed "I won Daytona" over his radio.

Bowyer edged Kyle Busch by 0.278 seconds. Carl Edwards was third and Joey Logano was fourth.

On the restart, Bowyer got help from Busch while Edwards, in second place, got help from Brad Keselowski as Bowyer and Edwards battled for the lead.

"Busch was pushing me hard on the restart," said Bowyer, who earned his first Nationwide win of the season in only his sixth start. "He actually hit me hard, and I spun the tires and got real loose."

Edwards felt if the race went the full 102 laps green, he had a chance to overtake Bowyer.

"We had tires, and I think we were in the right position," Edwards said. "If we went green, I think we had a chance."

Bowyer's win also was the first for car owner Richard Childress, who had been shut out in 16 starts.

"To win at Daytona is always special," said Childress, who hasn't won a Sprint Cup race this season.

There was no change in the top five in the points standings as Busch remained the leader, 177 points ahead of Edwards. Keselowski is third, followed by Jason Leffler and Logano.

Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. saw his night come to an end on Lap 58 when Steve Wallace slammed into Earnhardt on the backstretch.

This was the first race where NASCAR instituted the new double-file restarts and all, except the final one on the green-white-checkered, came off without incident.

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