Clint Bowyer
Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for NASCAR on Fox. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports.
Clint Bowyer
Clinton Edward Bowyer
May 30, 1979
Emporia, Kansas, U.S.
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
155 lb (70 kg)
2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion
2002 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Midwest Division Champion
2011 UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Modified Overall Champion
2011 Prelude to the Dream Winner
2010, 2011 Alabama 500 Winner
2014, 2015, 2017 NASCAR All-Star Race Open Winner
Has won with three separate engine manufacturers in NASCAR (Chevrolet, Toyota, Ford)
12th
2nd (2012)
104th
1st (2008)
No. 7 (Spire Motorsports)
84th
42nd (2006)
He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight years, Michael Waltrip Racing for four years, HScott Motorsports for one year, and Stewart-Haas Racing for four years. Bowyer won the 2008 Nationwide Series championship driving for RCR. Following the 2020 season, Bowyer retired from full-time racing and became an analyst for Fox Sports' NASCAR coverage. Bowyer currently competes part-time in the SRX Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Early career[edit]
Bowyer began racing at the age of five in motocross. He went on to capture over 200 wins and numerous championships over the next eight years. In 1996, he began racing street stocks at Thunderhill Speedway in Mayetta, Kansas, and there won the Modified championship in 2000. Bowyer racked up 18 wins and 32 top-five finishes on his way to capturing the 2001 Modified championships at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, and Heartland Park Topeka. In 2002, he began racing in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series, posting 9 poles, 12 wins and 32 top-five finishes en route to a second-place finish in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series national point standings. He was also crowned the 2002 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Midwest Champion after another Modified championship at Lakeside Speedway and a Late Model championship at the famed I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Missouri, his first attempt at racing on asphalt.
In 2003, Bowyer raced a full season in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division Midwest Series, scoring one top-ten finish in 11 starts. He also would make his first ARCA starts in 2003, and caught the eye of legendary car owner Richard Childress after leading 47 laps and finishing second in his debut at Nashville Superspeedway driving for Scott Traylor out of Kansas City.
After the second-place finish, Childress called Bowyer by phone and offered him a job. A flattered Bowyer thought he was joking and hung up on him. Childress called back soon afterward and with a not-too-happy tone he still offered the job to Bowyer.[1]
NASCAR career[edit]
2004[edit]
In 2004, Bowyer began by finishing eighth in the ARCA Re/Max Series race at Daytona in the No. 7 Chevrolet for Scott Traylor. In 2004, Bowyer began running in the Busch Series for Childress, sharing seat time in the No. 21 Reese's -sponsored Chevrolet with veteran Kevin Harvick. He drove in half of the 34 Busch Series races that year, winning one pole at Talladega and seven Top 10s, attaining a season-high third-place finish in the Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway in June. He also ran three races for Kevin Harvick Incorporated with help from Andy Petree Racing driving the No. 33 Chevrolet sponsored by Monaco Coaches and Snap-on. Bowyer made two starts for Bill McAnally Racing in the Camping World West Series in the No. 20 Chevrolet. In his two starts at Phoenix and Auto Club Speedway, he won one pole and had a best finish of second.
Clint Bowyer Racing[edit]
Bowyer started his own Dirt Late Model team, Clint Bowyer Racing in 2008.[36] Well-established veteran Shannon Babb of Mowequa, IL was behind the wheel of Clint's Rocket Chassis, and had a very solid season. Babb left to form his own team at the end of 2008,[37] due to wanting to run more of an "outlaw" type schedule, and wanting to race closer to home to be with his family. For the 2009 season, the 2005 World 100 Champion Dale McDowell (who ironically inherited the win via Babb being light at the scales) took over the seat, and the number was changed to Dale's signature No. 17M, Jared Landers also drives for the team in the No. 5 late model.
The team elected to run the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series full-time in 2009, choosing to run Warrior Racecars, with help from Warrior's owner, Sanford Goddard. Winning two races and finishing fourth in the points standings, it was a decent season. Since then, the 17M has become a staple of the Lucas Oil Series, continuing on the 2010 tour. Clint Bowyer Racing also has fielded cars in Tony Stewart's Prelude to the Dream in 2008 (Bowyer, 2nd and Jimmie Johnson, 10th) and 2010 (Johnson won, Bowyer 2nd). Both years these were also Warrior Racecars.
Clint Bowyer Racing fielded a car for Clint in 2011 for the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals. A victory in a feature night race helped Clint secure the overall modified championship in the event. In 2014 Clint Bowyer Racing won its first Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Championship with Don O'Neal driving the No. 5 Peak Performance car.
In 2016, after Clint Bowyer's lowest-ranking season with HScott Motorsports, Clint Bowyer and Clint Bowyer Racing filed a lawsuit against Harry Scott, Jr. charging him with breach-of-contract and fraud. The team charged that Bowyer brought some former MWR sponsors to the team and that HScott missed monthly payments for Bowyer's driving services in October and November 2016. Bowyer also alleged that the team was using money owed to him, to pay off their creditors. Upon filing the suit, Bowyer received a temporary court order against HScott Motorsports, ordering them to hold onto at least 2.2 million pending the lawsuit. The lawsuit was quickly settled out of court less than a week later, in a "mutual, amicable, confidential settlement."
Charity work[edit]
On May 6, 2008, Clint Bowyer attended and hosted the first annual Clint Bowyer Charity Golf Event in his hometown of Emporia, Kansas. It raised $160,000 for the Emporia Community foundation to "make Emporia a better place.”
While Bowyer was in Emporia for one of his golf tournaments for charity, he had the idea to raise money for and build a community center. Bowyer dedicated the building on March 12, 2012. Bowyer says he envisions the building can be used for anything for business meetings to weddings to concerts and was constructed with flexibility in mind. The new Bowyer Community Building is located at the Lyon County fairgrounds, which is on Highway 50 in Emporia.
TV appearances[edit]
Bowyer made a guest appearance on an episode of A&E's Duck Dynasty in 2012 on an episode titled "Drag Me To Glory". Bowyer was featured in the episode using his customized camouflage limousine in a race with the shows star, Willie Robertson, who was using a similar limousine.[42] In 2015, he co-hosted an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri where they went around Charlotte to find the best food spots.[43]
In June 2019, Bowyer was a color commentator for the Fox NASCAR broadcast of the Xfinity race at Pocono. Part of a Cup drivers-only coverage, he worked alongside Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano in the broadcast booth.[44]
On October 8, 2020, Bowyer revealed that he would be joining the Fox Sports broadcast booth full time for the 2021 season, stepping away from the driver's seat.[45]