Four-Tire Pit Call Results In Disappointment For Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson

Together, the trio of Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson combined to lead 353 of the 400 laps at Dover on Sunday.

And together, the drivers with the best three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars throughout the race left Delaware with a collective zero top-five finishes.

Each of their crew chiefs had instructed the pit crews to change four tires on the final pit stop with 34 laps to go. After all, though the rubber buildup seemed to be an issue, 34 laps was a long time to overcome cars on old tires with better track position.

At least that was the thinking. It turned out to be wrong.

“So many (teams) took two and a couple stayed out (with no tires),” said Johnson, who led a race-high 207 laps but finished ninth. “And if you just look at the numbers, the four-tire guys couldn’t get back through there. It was one of those deals.”

Johnson said he and crew chief Chad Knaus didn’t think so many teams would opt for two tires. But by the time he left pit road and saw all the cars in front of him, Johnson knew “we were in trouble.”

“Looking back, it is easy (to say it was the wrong call),” Johnson said. “At the time, we had done four (tires) all day and we saw some two yesterday and it didn’t pan out. Four looked like the (right) call, so I have his back, it is no big deal.”

Bowyer, who finished sixth after leading the last 29 laps until the pit stop, said he still had confidence his four fresh tires could overcome the older rubber in front of him.

“Obviously, probably two tires may have won the race right there,” Bowyer said. “But when (crew chief Shane Wilson) said, ‘Four’ and that many guys stayed out or were on two, I really thought we would be able to get back up through them, especially as greasy and slimy as the track was on restarts. But it just didn’t.”

Edwards, who finished seventh, said he also thought “we would have been able to march up through there” and said he didn’t blame crew chief Bob Osborne “one bit.”

“I thought the race would be between Clint and I,” Edwards said. “I did see a couple cars go fast early on two tires, but I really felt we were going to have something. ... You can’t look back, you have to look forward.”