Clint Bowyer finished 29 th in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He can’t afford another misstep in the eight races leading up to NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. After the first six races of the season, Bowyer ranked second in points. Now he’s 16th and has eight weeks to work his way into the top 12 and make the Chase. Kasey Kahne presently occupies 12th place. Bowyer trails him by 135 points.
He’s still got time, but it’s not going to be easy. Two years ago, Bowyer finished third in the Chase. Last year he was fifth. At age 30, Bowyer is one of NASCAR’s bright young drivers. He came up driving the dirt tracks near his hometown, Emporia, Kan. He won races in Loudon, NH in 2007 and Richmond, Va. in 2008. Now, however, Bowyer faces a stern challenge. A year ago his team, Richard Childress Racing, placed all three of its drivers in the Chase. This year, at least for now, all four (Casey Mears was added) are outside the top 12. What’s it going to take to make the Chase? “Just be consistent,” said Bowyer. “I’m fairly confident we can get at least two of us in. You know, [Jeff] Burton has been on a little bit of a down slide, but I feel like we, with the ‘33’ team, have really capitalized on learning some things and had a good, at least a solid, last few weeks.
“I think we’ve stopped the bleeding, so to speak, on the bigger race tracks, the mile and a halfs [like the next stop, Chicagoland Speedway]. ... We had some bad luck and had 250 or 300 points wiped out from right underneath of us there within a month, and it takes a while to get those points back.” Bowyer, by the way, is a fan of NASCAR’s new “double-file restarts” rule. “We are all about our fans,” he said. “We can’t do this without our fans, and we’ve got to make sure that we are putting on a good show for them. If they are enjoying our show and our product on race day, that’s what it’s all about.
“So I feel like it’s added a new level of excitement and kind of given NASCAR a wake-up call.... Those double-file restarts will definitely pick up the pace a little bit.” Bowyer hopes it’s his pace and not just the sport’s in general.
Monte Dutton has covered motorsports for The Gaston (NC) Gazette since 1993. He was named writer of the year by the National Motorsports Press Association in 2008. His blog NASCAR This Week (nascar.rbma.com) features all of his reporting on racing, roots music and life on the road. E-mail Monte at nascar_thisweek@yahoo.com.
Copyright 2009 King Features Syndicate
A bad finish at the Coke Zero 400 won’t keep Clint Bowyer out of the Chase, but the Kansan needs to keep up. (photo John Clark/NASCAR This Week)
