He wanted to make a pit stop and get new tires, but his crew chief made the call to keep him on the track. It paid off, too, as he stayed out front and ended up celebrating his first Nationwide victory since winning at Bristol in March 2008.

“It’s been tough this year,” said Bowyer, who won for the first time in six starts in the second-tier series. “It’s been tough on Richard, tough on everybody. Just real proud of everybody at RCR.”