Bowyer laughs, but regrets the loss of millisecond at Talladega

After finishing a foot behind five Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson Clint Bowyer laughed off the ignominy of entering the record books for margin 0.002 seconds record-tying victory Sunday. By Todd Warshaw, AP

Clint Bowyer, 33, finished only 0.002 seconds behind race winner Jimmie Johnson, 48, at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

By Todd Warshaw, AP

Clint Bowyer, 33, finished only 0.002 seconds behind race winner Jimmie Johnson, 48, at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

The Richard Childress Racing driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet "is never very nice to know that you did NASCAR history by losing," said with a laugh. "Sooner or later, I need to start making history by the winner. That guy's won enough. "There was a part of the missing for a second consecutive victory at Talladega Superspeedway which angered Bowyer, although ".If I would have won, he could have put me in pursuit, "he said. "I was thinking about it. It will be important throughout the year, and that was a good shot at it. It just slipped through our fingers. "More than a third of the way through the race 26 "season" that will set the 12-driver field to Chase race for the Sprint Cup, there are many drivers that may be regretting the missed opportunities.Only one driver listed as media 11-20 on points (Jeff Gordon in XIII) has a victory through eight races and that there would be many opportunities to secure a berth for Chase through a visit to victory lane. NASCAR changed the eligibility to be among the dozen title contenders this season, opening the Chase for the top 10 in points and the two pilots with more victories ranked between 11 and 20 — a group that includes veterans Chase Tony Stewart (12).Gordon, Mark Martin (14), Greg Biffle (XVI), Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne (18) and Martin Truex Jr. (19). "The importance of getting a win is great," said Bowyer, who gained two spots to 10th. In the ninth through 26 regular season races during the Chase (2004-11), Johnson and Stewart are tied with 15 WINS and Hamlin (nine victories), Gordon (eight) and Kahne (eight) also gained many times during the bulk of programming.Hamlin 16 victories, nine came from mid-April to mid-September, and he has several victories on two tracks (Richmond and Pocono) with two races each one before the beginning of the persecution.But the driver Joe Gibbs Racing, which has three points to 17 points despite a 23 at Talladega, also said recently that still believed that his No. 11 Toyota could make the persecution by crawling on the top 10 in points. In his debut season, 2006, he obtained the Chase (who was then the top 10 through 26 races) after being ranked 18TH through eight races and Martin Truex Jr. (20 in 2007), Matt Kenseth (28 Nov ' 05)Ryan Newman (XVII on 9) and Brian Vickers (18th 09) rose from similar positions after eight races.Hamlin is 50 points behind 10th place Court, which seems daunting in a renovated this year that increases the punishment for a poor finish. But there has been much movement in the standings. Bowyer rose 14 points in the last four races, and Joey Logano improved four positions for Sunday 23 with their first top 10 ' 11. That leaves him three points outside the top 20 and perhaps a victory to make the Chase. "Something we can build out with certainty," Logano said. "We just need to keep these backup".For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ. To report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections usatoday.com. We've updated the guidelines of the conversation. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation of how to use the "report abuse" button. Read more.