Valiant efforts come up short for Bowyer, Larson

A win would have earned either driver, Bowyer or Larson, a ticket into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which begins next weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. The more difficult process involved finishing the appropriate number of positions ahead of Ryan Newman and/or Biffle.

Newman was steady if unspectacular, rolling his way to a rock-solid ninth-place finish. Biffle seemed more likely to fold, going two laps down at one point in Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

But in the end, he managed to do what he needed to do to make the Chase, eventually ending the night with a seven-point margin on Bowyer, and the final of the 16 berths to be awarded.

“If you make the Chase you want to compete for a championship,” Bowyer said. “Truth be told, we’re not there right now. A lot of work to do. We’ve got to continue to build on momentum like we had here tonight.

“You know, it’s definitely frustrating not making that Chase, but like I said, when you do make the Chase, you want it to be for a championship, not just ride around in it. We still haven’t won a race … everybody on this 15 team deserves a win by the end of the year, and I’ll see to it they get it.”

Bowyer had been a Chase participant on five previous occasions, including the two previous seasons. After qualifying sixth for the final regular-season NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Bowyer had moved to fourth when NASCAR brought out the caution just past the 50-lap mark.

Quick work by his No. 15 Toyota team put him second in the running order for the restart, but the outside line failed to advance, and Bowyer soon found himself running fourth and having to fight for lost positions.

Throughout the race, he remained in the top five. But Keselowski’s dominance and Biffle’s unwillingness to go quietly into the night left Bowyer Chase-less.

“Tip my hat to my guys, I’m really proud of them,” co-owner Michael Waltrip said afterward. “They were really close to winning that race.”

But Keselowski, he said, “was just amazing” while runner-up Jeff Gordon “was just a little bit better” than Bowyer.

No Chase, perhaps, but 10 races remain just the same.

“I think that’s their attitude, too,” Waltrip said of the No. 15 team. “They don’t quit, they don’t give up. We know that this chapter is closed for us but we can come back and win races; we need to be on TV for … all our sponsors.

“Clint’s got a great attitude, he’s energetic and fun to be around; I think maybe he can let loose now and maybe go win some races and we can finish the season strong.”

While Bowyer ran in the top five the majority of the night, Larson, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, spent most of his evening inside the top 10, eventually finishing 11th.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver finished 16 points behind Biffle.

“I’m still proud of my team,” Larson said as he leaned back against his No. 42 Chevrolet. “We’ve been working hard and we’re getting closer.”

Larson said he knew his odds weren’t good, but “it was more that I was just hoping for the 16 (of Biffle) to have some trouble; he had about the night I figured he would, which was a smart night, to stay up there and make his way into the Chase.

“Clint was doing a very good job too, all race long. I thought he might have a shot to win. I guess he fell just a little short.”

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