"The nerves were through the roof” - When Clint Bowyer expressed his “unbelievable” feeling of keeping Kyle Busch at bay amid career-first achievement

Clint Bowyer quenched his years' worth of winless thirst after acing the 2018 STP 500 at the Martinsville Speedway. It marked the ninth triumph of the Stewart-Haas Racing driver but it was his career-first win at the half-mile short track. Kyle Busch was the biggest threat to his win and after the race, Bowyer shared what it was like keeping Busch at bay.

The last time Bowyer parked his car in the victory lane before that race was at the 2012 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he surged from a fourth-place start to emerge victorious for Michael Waltrip Racing. Moreover, Bowyer's maiden year at SHR was winless, and he was under pressure to prove hiring him was the right decision.

Bowyer proved this by winning at Martinsville, under continuous pressure from Joe Gibbs Racing's Busch. The #18 JGR Toyota driver suffered from an unutilized pole start and three consecutive podiums before the Martinsville race, and was yearning to perform the victory burnouts.

Busch was a Cup Series champion and had over 50 wins before he began the 500-lap fight. After achieving his career-first feat, Bowyer expressed his feelings about dethroning the JGR rival. Clint Bowyer said (via Jayski),

“To keep Kyle Busch, one of the best in the business, behind you in those closing laps, the nerves were through the roof. It’s unbelievable how it all came true.”

The SHR driver avoided any move that could let Busch close in and jeopardize his first win in 190 races. Following his success in the snow-delayed race, Bowyer expressed his emotions about driving up to the race in Virginia. He said,

"For whatever reason, it felt right driving up here. Such a cool place, to be able to drive up through the countryside on a two-lane road and think about the race."

While it took nearly six years for Bowyer to secure his ninth win, he earned his tenth victory quite soon, after just eight races, at the Michigan International Speedway.

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"He was a little bit better than we were" - When Kyle Busch praised Clint Bowyer after his Martinsville win

A 500-lap race means multiple pitstops and ample time for the field to go haywire and change the potential outcome. Thus, saving on fuel and tires in long races and strategizing pitstops to capitalize on cautions becomes pivotal for track position.

Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer did the same at the 2018 Martinsville race, "saving" their stuff. However, according to the runner-up, the #14 SHR driver was better at maintaining the right positions throughout. Busch said (via Jayski),

"For us, saving our stuff, the 14 was able to save his stuff, and he was a little bit better than we were. He was able to kind of edge out there through the early laps of firing off each and every time, first 10 or 15 (laps), and kind of get that gap, and then he’d kind of just hold that."

Busch placed his #18 Toyota fourth in Stage 1 while Clint Bowyer came fifth. But the tables turned in the second stage, as the latter finished one place ahead of the former in the second. Bowyer then grabbed the lead from Ryan Blaney on lap 285 and led all but one lap until he crossed the checkered flag.