Texas II: Jason Bowles race report

Transmission Problems End Night Early for Jason Bowles at Texas

Jason Bowles finished 28th in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) event at Texas Motor Speedway after a string of bad luck throughout the race. Starting in his third-career NCWTS event, Bowles faced a speeding penalty and late-transmission problem that ended the day early for the No. 46 team.

Piloting the No. 46 Eddie Sharp Racing / Team Gill Racing Toyota Tundra, Bowles took to the 1.5-mile track for the first time Thursday morning for two practice sessions. Hopping in the No. 46 for the first time of the weekend, Bowles ended up 26th-quickest with a time of 31.050 seconds (173.913 mph). Bowles picked up speed in the final practice with a quick lap of 30.823 seconds (175.194 mph).

The team worked hard to get the Tundra quicker, and Bowles laid down a qualifying lap of 30.596 seconds (176.494 mph). The lap was good enough to land the No. 46 the 22nd starting position.

On Friday night, the team prepared for the 147-lap event. Bowles looked to gain experience in third-career NCWTS event and looked to improve upon his previous starts.

Bowles took the green flag for the WinStar World Casino 350K on Friday night from the 22nd position. The first caution flag of the night flew on the first lap for an incident in turn four, with the No. 46 running in the 16th position. The field restarted on lap six, and Bowles began his trek forward. On lap nine, Bowles worked his way into the top-15 and looked to maintain a consistent run under green. Caught up in traffic, the No. 46 fell back to the 21st position on lap 32.

Green-flag stops were in the near future, but the No. 3 truck brought out the second caution of the night after hitting the wall with a blown right-front tire. Bowles brought the No. 46 down pit road for a successful pit stop, exiting in the 17th position.

The field went back to green on lap 49, with Bowles moving back into the top-15. A multi-car incident slowed the field for another caution on lap 52, with Bowles in the 15th position. As the field went back to green on lap 60, Bowles began to pick up spots, positioning himself inside the top-15. By lap 74, Bowles was running in the 18th position behind Tayler Malsam and Max Papis in traffic. Race leader, Todd Bodine, put the No. 46 one lap down on lap 94.

The leaders began green-flag pit stops on lap 94., Bowles stayed out as the first car one lap down in the 15th position with hopes of a caution to get the Aaron's Lucky Dog award. With 49 laps to go, Bowles moved into the 11th position as he came down pit road. Unfortunately, as Bowles exited pit road, he was cited with a speeding penalty. The No. 46 was forced to take a pass-through penalty on pit road on the next lap, putting the Tundra three laps down in the 22nd position.

Bowles and the team looked to recover from the speeding penalty, but bad luck found the team once again. With 19 laps to go, Bowles reported the transmission had blown. Bowles' night was over, resulting in a 28th-place finish.

Kyle Busch held off Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton on a late restart to win his seventh NCWTS race this season. The blown transmission relegated the No. 46 to a 28th-place finish.

-source: jasonbowles.com