Clint Bowyer at the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway

Debris — crumpled paper, perhaps? — got in Bowyer’s grill early, forcing a pit stop 18 laps in, and he was playing catch-up the rest of the way. He finished 25th, which snapped his streak of top-15 finishes at eight.

Clint Bowyer fell victim to overheating issues in the early goings of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, forcing the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet to pit under green-flag conditions, just 18 laps in to the longest race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule.

Bowyer’s black and white No. 07 Chevy picked up debris that had blown on to the race track blocking the front grill openings and causing the water and oil temperatures to spike. The untimely trip to pit lane ultimately cost him two laps that, despite a yeoman’s effort, he was unable to reclaim.

“We picked up some trash on the nose of the Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, had to pit under green and lost two laps. In all honesty, going two laps down early is almost as bad as wrecking. All things considered, 25th isn’t too bad. Gil (crew chief Gil Martin) and all the guys did a great job getting the car to where I could drive it. We struggled during the All-Star race and really didn’t have a good handle on the car for most of this weekend. But, when the green flag dropped, the Jack Daniel’s Chevy was easily a top-10 car. If we wouldn’t have had that bad luck, I feel like we could have raced for the win. We’re going to Dover next weekend and that’s a track I really enjoy. We’re taking a good car so this team is looking to rebound from a tough couple of weeks.” - Clint Bowyer

Still, Bowyer held on to fifth in the Sprint Cup Series point standings where he holds a 40-point advantage over Carl Edwards in sixth and a 61-point margin over Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick in seventh. Meanwhile, Bowyer is just 18 points behind Denny Hamlin in fourth.