Austin Dillon and his number three Chevrolet Camaro took the green flag from the pole position at 3:13 P.M. Eastern on Sunday, yet his time out front would be short-lived for a total of just seven laps. The Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway was only underway for 11 laps before Mother Nature had her way. Following a three hour and 18-minute weather delay, Kevin Harvick seemed to be the class of the field as he led 132 of the 267 laps. Harvick's day, however, was compromised to a 14th place finish after he made contact with the outside wall in turn two during the final stage.
With Harvick no longer at peak performance, Alex Bowman and his number 88 Hendrick Motorsports Axalta Camaro set sail away from the rest of the field. Leading for a total of 88 laps, Bowman captured his first career victory at the Cup Series level in NASCAR -Bowman is now the only driver in NASCAR history to have finished in all 43 eligible positions in the field (1st-43rd).
The closing laps of the race had all fans on the edge of their seats. With Bowman out front, Kyle Larson began to very quickly bite into his lead, taking tenths off of that lead on almost every lap until finally on lap 260 where Larson stole the lead. Larson however led for only two laps before Bowman snatched the lead away for the final time on his way to victory.
When asked how Bowman made the final pass after seemingly having a worse race car than Larson, Bowman stated "I was tired of running second." Bowman recently had three consecutive second place finishes earlier this season before finally finishing the job and winning at Chicago.
Bowman's trip to victory lane would be memorable for all that were involved along the way. Bowman started out his Cup Series career finishing in the bottom five of the field almost weekly for Tommy Baldwin racing which is severely underfunded and was let go, leaving him wondering if he would ever race again. With help from Dale Earnhardt Jr to secure a spot with a perennial powerhouse race team of Hendrick Motorsports, Bowman is now a winner at the highest level of auto racing. "There are so many people that are capable of doing this, I'm just so thankful that I got the opportunity" said Bowman in victory lane when interviewed by NBCSN's Parker KIigerman.
It was a big day for Chevrolet and particularly Hendrick Engines, as they showed speed and strength as a program on a mile and a half track for the first time in nearly two years. Chevrolet drivers totaled 123 total laps led, and accounted for five of the top ten finishers with Bowman in first, Larson in second, Jimmie Johnson in fourth, William Byron in eighth, and Dillon in tenth.
NASCAR heads back to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Superspeedway tracks allow for tons of action, and give all teams a fair chance to win. Tune in to NBC on July 6th at 7:30 P.M. Eastern to see where your favorite driver will end up.
