CONCORD, N.C. -- Maybe this kid really isn't going to go away in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Despite finishing second in the Bank of America 500 Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Clint Bowyer lost ground to Chase leader Jeff Gordon. But he gained more respect throughout the garage for the way he battled throughout a night in which he led 79 laps and gave Gordon all he could handle at the end after it was Ryan Newman's race to lose -- and Newman lost it by spinning out in Turn 2 with three laps from the scheduled finish.

It left Bowyer third in the Chase, which is where he was coming in. But because Gordon won the race, he's now 78 points out of the lead after entering the night only 63 back. He did close the gap between himself and Jimmie Johnson, who is in second in the Chase, cutting Johnson's edge on him from 54 points to only 10.

In three previous career starts at LMS, Bowyer had never finished higher than 19th. So even though he obviously wanted to win after leading so many laps, Bowyer was all smiles when the race was over.

"It was a good run for us," Bowyer said. "There is no secret that this has been a struggle for me, coming to this place. I always seem to find a place to spin out and get into the Turn 4 wall.

"Finally finishing the race here and taking second, it's a loser -- but in the big picture it's a points save for us. I didn't qualify the best [started 25th] and we were able to get up high."

Bowyer has been especially impressive during the five Chase races, capturing his first career win in the Chase opener at Loudon and following that up with finishes of 12th at Dover, second at Kansas, and 11th at Talladega prior to Saturday night. He had entered the Chase as the 12th and last seed and as the only driver in it who had yet to win a single race this season.

"He's incredible. He's impressing a lot of people right now," Gordon said. "To me, when you're going to measure a driver's talent and abilities and what they're capable of, it's, No. 1, are you consistent? Are you able to run good at a lot of different tracks? He's been showing that he can do that."

Gordon said perhaps the most telling evidence of Bowyer's arrival as one of the top drivers at the Cup level is the fact that he has been running at the end of each of the 31 races this season. (Continued)