Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
In a pair of segments for the Sprint Showdown, it’d be Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer picking up wins to transfer to the Sprint All-Star race. Meanwhile, Danica Patrick would earn the most points in the Sprint Fan Vote to transfer as well.
Greg Biffle would qualify second for the Showdown, leading all 20 laps en route to scoring the victory ahead of Bowyer, Paul Menard, Austin Dillon and David Ragan.
“It’s so exciting to be able to race for a million dollars tomorrow night,” he commented. “Kind of exciting on the start, but glad that we were able to hang on.”
At the end of the first segment, Bowyer made the decision to take four tires while five others took two tires, setting him up to restart in the fourth spot. Ragan restarted with the lead, but lost it on the drop of the green flag as Martin Truex Jr. went on by. The caution would fly under the second lap for J.J. Yeley getting loose and going for a ride through the infield grass.
The restart brought forth a battle for the lead between Truex and Kyle Larson, with Bowyer joining the fray and making it three-wide. Bowyer was able to clear them both, leading the rest of the way to score the victory.
“That’s what 20 lap dashes are all about,” he commented. “Beating and banging. It feels great to have a run like that after the struggles that we had.”
Menard finished second, followed by Truex, Sam Hornish Jr. and Chase Elliott.
“It was a handful,” Truex said. “If we could’ve got clear of the 42, we may have had a chance. 4 tires against 2 was a tough battle.”
Larson, meanwhile, would fall two laps down after having to come down for pit road for repairs after getting into the wall following contact with Hornish with eight laps to go. Patrick would finish the second segment in the ninth spot, but was able to transfer virtue of the fan vote.
“That is great news, ” she commented. “I have great fans and while I wanted to race my way in, I’m really grateful for my fans. They help me a lot more, even just beyond this, so thank you.”
