Clint Bowyer edged back into the top 12 drivers in Sprint Cup points and his crew chief, Shane Wilson, captured his second NASCAR MOOG “Problem Solver of the Race” Award as the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet finished fourth in Saturday night’s Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Ill.
Sponsored by global vehicle components manufacturer Federal-Mogul Corporation, the MOOG Problem Solver Award is presented following each Sprint Cup event to the crew chief whose car posts the largest increase in average lap speed from the first half to the second half of the race while finishing on the lead lap. Bowyer and the Richard Childress Racing-owned No. 33 Chevrolet improved 0.369-second per lap over the final 133 trips around Chicagoland’s 1.5-mile tri-oval.
Bowyer’s strong finish – just his second top-five of the year – came following a heartbreaking late-race mishap had ruined the team’s chances of victory last week at Daytona International Speedway. The team bounced back with what Bowyer called an “excellent” car for Saturday’s hot and humid conditions, and then Wilson and crew continually tweaked the Chevrolet’s MOOG-equipped chassis to ensure optimal handling as temperatures cooled.
“The No. 33 team brought a near-perfect car to the track and then kept it in great shape as the sun went down and the track became more challenging,” said Federal-Mogul Motorsports Director Tim Nelson. “It was obvious that Clint had a lot of confidence in his chassis setup all night, which is a direct reflection of the decisions Shane Wilson made throughout the evening.”
