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  • Clint Bowyer Animated For 300th Start at Kansas Speedway

    Clint Bowyer Animated For 300th Start at Kansas Speedway

    Clint Bowyer’s tenure in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series reaches a milestone this weekend when he makes his 300th career-start at an ideal place, his home track of Kansas Speedway.

    “Yeah, every time you see one of these 300 starts or 400 starts, whatever it is with us, it really doesn’t register until you get back to thinking about how it all began and what it really means,” Bowyer expressed on Tuesday afternoon. “(I’m) very fortunate to be a part of this sport for 300 races.

    “Love this sport, love being a part of it, and hopefully we’re a part of it for a long time. All of that coming down to Kansas, my home track, is even that much more special to be able to celebrate my 300th (start) right here in my own backyard at Kansas Speedway.”

    Bowyer, on the heels of declaring his newly-wed wife, Lorra, is pregnant with a male, received a three-year extension on his current contract with Michael Waltrip Racing; a team he’s partnered with the past two seasons.

    “Yeah, really excited about a multi-year deal with them,” Bowyer further explained about the recently signed contract. “It means a lot that we were able to put it back together at MWR. I’ve had a tremendous amount of success there right off the bat. The key to success in this sport is people and being able to keep those people together, so really happy about keeping (Brian) Pattie and the whole group intact.”

    Bowyer, who began his career at Richard Childress Racing, is now alluding to how fortunate he’s become racing for Michael Waltrip’s organization.

    “I have a great team; I have a great sponsor; I have a great manufacturer; I’ve got a great organization that takes care of my sponsors that builds a great platform for all of them to be able to showcase a product and get their bang for the buck. That is so important,” Bowyer further commented during a media conference.

    The Emporia, Kansas competitor is also reliving his greatest moments during his first 299 appearances, and one sticks out – his first career-win in 2007 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    “I’ll never forget it,” Bowyer noted about his first-victory. “Both of my parents were there, my brothers were there, and it was just like surreal because here all these people were to help me get to where I was at, you know, and it immediately made you think back to how it all started. You almost get giddy and start laughing like how in the hell is this happening right now.”

    Bowyer, 33, now rotates his attention towards the ultimate goal – winning and guaranteeing a Chase berth – however, he’s not pondering upon that thought, he’s hoping to seal the situation and grant the placement in the Chase this weekend at Kansas.

    “I’m pretty excited about the weekend,” Bowyer added. “I had a great week, and can’t wait for the race.  It’s our first night race.  Everybody’s excited about the night race at Kansas, and can’t wait to get on the track. Hopefully my 5-Hour Energy Toyota is going to be strong.”

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – Newman gets justice while Gordon will have to rely on vengeance

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – Newman gets justice while Gordon will have to rely on vengeance

    Sometime over the next ten weeks, at one of ten tracks hosting the Chase, Clint Bowyer will be sailing along. He will feel a sudden nudge in his left rear quarter-final, just a touch but enough to cause him to feel the car getting out from under him. Bowyer will try to save it, and come close in doing so but, alas, his car will find the wall. His race and his Chase hopes, done in an instant.

    Over the car radio we will hear Jeff Gordon, “I did not mean to do that; I sure hate it.” Then silence, at least over the air waves, as laughter explodes from behind the wall, just beyond the #24 pit box and spotter’s stand. High above the track, Mike Helton will look on, a hint of a smile appearing behind that bushy mustache. He will know, just as was the case with Bowyer at Richmond, that he will not have definitive proof that Gordon did anything intentional. No doubt just a racing deal. Just like Bowyer. Then, all will be right with the world.

    Bowyer was not penalized for intentionally spinning out to cause that late caution at Richmond. Not enough definitive proof, though enough to tarnish the reputation of the personable driver for the foreseeable future among fans. No, this was not an individual penalty, but one aimed at an entire organization for attempting to manipulate the outcome of an event and the standings to benefit one of their own. A $300,000 fine to Michael Waltrip Racing, a indefinite suspension of General Manager Ty Norris, 50 point penalties to each of the organization’s cars and drivers, and probation for all three of its crew chiefs.

    In order for Martin Truex Jr to make the Chase, Ryan Newman could not win and Joey Logano had to claim a Top Ten spot in the standings in order to keep him out of the wild card scenario. When a startled Brian Vickers was ordered to the pits, just before the re-start, in order to allow Logano to move ahead of him on the track, combined with Bowyer’s dawdling on pit road to do the same, the proof was there. Logano made it, taking Jeff Gordon out of the Chase and allowing Truex to slip into the final wild card position.

    At least until the penalties. They dropped Truex behind Newman in points, so Newman takes over that position. Logano was simply a pawn, so there was no reason to sanction him. Other than to invent a rule to award Gordon an extra Chase place, NASCAR’s hands were tied. Bowyer gets penalized from his season total, which will not affect his Chase standing going in. He was going to be tied for 8th at Chicago, penalty or no penalty. Where is the justice, you might ask. For Gordon, the best he can do is discover an itch in his hot car, just enough for him to need to scratch it, sometime over the next few weeks as his right front fender nears Bowyer’s left rear quarter-panel. We know it could happen. We have all already seen it.

    As they enter the Chase, five race winner Matt Kenseth takes a three point lead over Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch in to Chicago.  The leader has been as hot as Johnson has not, as of late, but Rowdy is the one to watch. He has won there, while Kevin Harvick has done so twice. While they have not yet claimed a victory at the track, the two we will be watching who have the best average finish at Chicagoland are Johnson and Bowyer.  Ironically, Gordon owns a piece of one of those cars and would like just a piece of the other.

     

    Name Points Pos LW Rank W T5 T10
      Kyle Busch  350 1 2 (2) 2 4 6
      Kurt Busch  337 2 1 (8) 0 4 7
      Matt Kenseth  326 3 7 (1) 2 3 5
      Jamie McMurray  326 4 9 (14) 0 2 3
      Ryan Newman  323 5 8 (8) 1 4 5
      Kevin Harvick  318 6 5 (4) 0 2 5
      Joey Logano  312 7 3 (6) 1 4 7
      Jeff Gordon  309 8 6 (13) 0 1 7
      Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  302 9 10 (8) 0 1 5
      Kasey Kahne  294 10 11 (8) 1 3 5
      Carl Edwards  294 11 14 (4) 1 2 4
      Juan Pablo Montoya  285 12 17 (19) 0 2 4
      Greg Biffle  280 13 15 (6) 0 0 3
      Jimmie Johnson  268 14 13 (2) 1 2 5
      Brad Keselowski  266 15 18 (15) 0 2 3
      Marcos Ambrose  258 16 16 (21) 0 0 2
      Paul Menard  253 17 19 (16) 0 2 3
      Clint Bowyer  251 18 4 (8) 0 3 4
      Martin Truex, Jr.  238 19 12 (17) 0 2 4
      Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.  238 20 22 (20) 0 0 1
      Aric Almirola  236 21 20 (18) 0 1 1

  • Humpy Must Have Been Reading My Mind

    It’s only mid-week and already a few big stories have hit. First there was the surprise YouTube video of Humpy Wheeler, the legendary promoter who put Charlotte Motor Speedway on the map, giving a critical analysis of what is wrong with NASCAR followed closely by Brian Vickers getting the full time ride in the No.55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota and the dismissal of Juan Pablo Montoya from the No. 42 Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevrolet. Interesting moves, no doubt, so let’s start with Wheeler’s comments.

    Wheeler was regarded as the number one promoter in racing until his abrupt firing by Speedway Motorsports in 2008. He now owns a consulting company, but his comments on the sport ring true most of the time. I first heard his ideas on the health of the sport on SiriusXM satellite radio last week, but seeing them in print was a real eye opener.

    When considering the lack of attendance and the diminishing TV ratings, Wheeler has many ideas on why this has happened, firstly the corpatizement, as he calls it, of the sport. This rings true. Wheeler contends that the huge sums of money collected by the sport’s teams was good, it also upped the cost of what teams could spend on their teams, leaving a gap of the haves and have-nots in the sport, as well as multi-car super teams, reducing competition. His story about Firestone asking him to help in getting Richard Petty to take diction instruction to do commercials rings true. Today’s drivers tend to be corporate darlings, easily mentioning each sponsor in rote fashion and even taking gulps of their sport’s beverage on cue. Wheeler, to his credit, refused Firestone saying a better speaking King would not be the King. It was what enamored him to his fans.

    Wheeler’s ideas are legendary. Lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the big military shows before the Coke 600, and turning the speedway built in 1960 into the crown jewel of the sport are just a few of his accomplishments, but his other ideas may be considered radical..

    Wheeler’s main points are that the sport got too fancy, didn’t emphasize winning and passing enough, and didn’t give a reason for fans to come back after a race. How would Wheeler solve this? Give points for re-passing on the track. Give extra bonuses for winning and passing in a race, and do away with some of the new rules. He didn’t mention them specifically, but one can only surmise he meant the “Luck Dog,” the wave around and the double file restart. That’s what I thought he meant anyway. Maybe Wheeler will expound on this later. One thing is certain; he feels he knows what happened to the popularity of the sport.

    Since about 1990, NASCAR was in power curve that played out about 2001. It was coincidentally the same year Dale Earnhardt lost his life in the Daytona 500. Wheeler calls him the working man’s driver. From that point on, NASCAR started waning in popularity. He says that guys like Richard Petty, Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, and David Pearson were drivers that the working man could identify with. That is missing today, and I agree. Fans still flock to the tracks with No. 3 flags and stickers on their campers and cars. When asked who their favorite driver is, they are stumped for an answer. As Wheeler articulated so well, we do not have that driver anymore. Wheeler mentioned Clint Bowyer and then said he had been corpatized. We seem to have turned our drivers into walking and driving extensions of their sponsors, refusing to be themselves except in a moment of rage or weakness when they apologize to the sponsor and the fans for being themselves. Makes no sense. The motto is “ye must be a corporate spokesman.” Racing is secondary, and that’s the problem in Humpy’s mind. In my mind, we’ve gotten too fancy. Humpy would be proud. What will bring NASCAR back to the growth they saw in the 10-12 year growth spurt? Excitement and competition across the board and drivers people can relate to in today’s world. Let’s see if anyone is listening.

    Brian Vickers is getting the full time gig in the Aaron’s Toyota in 2014, leaving Mark Martin, who only wants a part-time ride without a car to drive. Where will he go? Some say back to Roush-Fenway for a few races in the legendary No. 6, and others say the same thing in the Wood Brothers No.21. To be honest, where else could he go for a part-time ride? With drivers like Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, and now Juan Montoya looking, pickings will be slim. If Martin could bring some sponsorship along, all bets are off, of course.

    The dismissal of Montoya was a total surprise. I don’t think Montoya will accept an uncompetitive ride, so only the RCR No.29, the Phoenix Racing No. 51, and the possible 4th car at RCR seem to be in play. Then, you have to consider Newman, who will be in big demand, and what Richard Childress will do with his grandsons. It’s not much of a market out there for displaced drivers. My guess is that Montoya will go back to what he did before coming to NASCAR. I could be wrong, but I don’t see a place for him in 2014. Silly Season should be lots of fun this fall.

  • Sprint Media Tour – Day Two – Michael Waltrip Racing

    Sprint Media Tour – Day Two – Michael Waltrip Racing

    Photo Credit: Brad Keppel
    Photo Credit: Brad Keppel

    On Day Two of the Sprint Media Tour, Michael Waltrip Racing was featured. Waltrip’s team was considered the most improved in 2012, having two of his three teams make the Chase and the third very close. This year, there are few changes at MWR.

    “If you’re looking for change, there isn’t any,” Waltrip said. “We’re going to try to build on last year.” Clint Bowyer was cautiously optimistic. “I don’t think we overachieved, because I think when you say overachieved it means you did more than you’re capable of, Bowyer said. “I just think we were beyond expectations and what people expected of us. I’m very proud of what we accomplished last year.

    I’ve looked forward to this year and what we have in front of us and the opportunities ahead with this new car and continue to build on what we had last year. That’s more important to me right now, is making sure we get the year started off right and the only way I know to do that is to win the Daytona 500.”

    Bowyer was asked what it was like being around someone like Mark Martin.

    “You know, Mark Martin first of all is a class act. He’s a racer, he’s driven beyond belief. His focus and determination is incredible and is just a great asset for our program and to be around as an individual. I’m very, very happy that he’s my teammate. I’m very appreciative of the fact that he’s my teammate and hopefully he’s in the sport for many years to come,” Bowyer said.

    Mark Martin was asked how he felt about the new Gen 6 Toyota.

    “This is not a dramatic change from what we had. In most ways, it’s subtle improvements all around until it gets to the aesthetics, and then that is — I would say — a huge improvement, Martin said. “Aesthetically, it’s a big change. Mechanically, it’s a nice improvement, a nice evolution of what we were doing, so operationally it’s not that huge. We went to the race track and we picked up where we left off at the end of last year and I saw most, pretty much everyone do that.”

    Martin Truex, Jr. came close to winning races last year, but the improvement was possibly more dramatic with his Toyota.

    “Really, it was the end of 2011 that got it started. We built new cars, we did a lot of things differently, had momentum going into the off-season, felt good and had a good direction going into 2012. I told a lot of people last year — or last winter – that we were going to be somebody that could go out and run strong each and every week and I felt like we could go out and make the Chase, and we were able to do that. It started in 2011 for sure, but it was mostly a direction of the team. The direction that the team was going in because of our leadership, because of Michael (Waltrip, co-owner) and Rob’s (Kauffman, co-owner) commitment to put our team where it was last year. And, that commitment obviously is to keep going in that directly and hopefully we’ll be able to do it this year.”

    Truex also mentioned that the reason sponsorship was so stable at MWR was that the organization was “all in” in sponsors. “Here’s what we’re going to do for you and here’s what it costs,” Truex said. Sponsors like that.”

    Co-owner Waltrip was very enthusiastic about the new season, but at the same time amazed at how good the formula worked.

    “I was just amazed at Brian Pattie’s (No. 15 crew chief) ability to run a race,” Waltrip said. “To help Clint Bowyer go win races — he really was a master strategist. He understood when to get gas and when to get two tires and so you put a guy behind the wheel like Clint Bowyer, who showed up in NASCAR and you could tell that he could drive a car better than most and then you give him a guy that’s a bit of a risk taker and a call maker and put him on the pit box like Brian Pattie and you couple all that with the support that Scott Miller (competition director) and the boys that build the cars and do the engineering at MWR — they were a really fun combination to watch. I’m just looking forward to watching them go again in 2013.”

    MWR will make no changes, as the co-owner said, from the formula that worked so well in 2012. Bowyer and Truex will have full time rides with Martin and Brian Vickers sharing the third car.