View Clint Bowyer: Chase Chronicle
Chase Chronicle: Clint Bowyer
By Gregg Leary
Don Schick is Wind Tunnel’s “Stick and Ball” expert and has a remarkable knack for crystallizing interesting stats. He got me thinking when he said “Even though they are ranked 4th, 5th and 7th in Chase Points, you can write off the Richard Childress Racing drivers as far as winning the Chase is concerned, unless they drastically change their pattern immediately.” Say what? Don presents an interesting argument “Since the advent of the Chase in 2004, the driver who won the championship ranked in the Top Five for the season in 3 Major Categories… Wins, Top Five and Top Ten finishes. None of the RCR drivers ranks high enough in these categories...and in 87 combined starts this season they have only TWO wins. Not enough Top Fives, not enough Top Tens, and virtually no wins…equals NO championship.”
Chase Champion Wins Top Fives Top Tens
2007 Johnson First Second Second
2006 Johnson Second Fifth First
2005 Stewart Second First First
2004 Busch Fourth Fifth Fourth
2008 RCR Drivers
Jeff Burton Sixth Eleventh Fifth
Clint Bowyer Sixth Thirteenth Twelfth
Kevin Harvick No Wins Tenth Fifth
Clint Bowyer currently ranks 7th in Chase Points heading to Talladega. He is 164 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. How has Clint fared in the 23 Chase races he has run? He has 1 win (Loudon in 2007), 4 Top Fives and 10 Top Tens. If the law of averages hold, he should end the season with 3 more Top Tens and 1 more Top Five.
Seven races remain. How has Bowyer done at these racetracks?
Talladega: 1 Top 10 in 5 races (9th)
Lowes: 1 Top 5 in 5 races (2nd)
Martinsville: 2 Top 10 in 5 races (9th, 10th)
Atlanta: 3 Top 10 in 5 races (Three straight 6th places)
Texas: 1 Top 5, 1 Top 10 in 5 races (5th, 10th)
Phoenix: 2 Top 5 in 6 races (2nd, 5th)
Miami: 1 Top 10 in 2 races (10th)
If Bowyer could catch fire and equal his best all time finish at each of these racetracks during the last seven races of the 2008 Chase…he COULD snatch the title, if those ahead of him in points face major adversity. It would be a huge long shot but it IS possible…but highly unlikely.
So, who is Clint Bowyer and where did he come from?
Here’s a Brief Bio.
#07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet
Richard Childress Racing
Crew Chief: Gil Martin
DOB: 5-30-79 (29)
First Cup Start: 4-23-05 (Phoenix)
First Win: 9-16-07 (NH)
First Pole: 5-13-07 (Darlington)
Best Cup Points finish: 3rd in 2007
Leads 2008 Nationwide Points
2002 NASCAR Weekly Series Midwest Region Champ
Got first Busch Series win at Nashville 6-12-05
He was “discovered” by Richard Childress during the 2003 ARCA race at Nashville where he finished 2nd in his series debut.
Born on Memorial Day…Racing’s Biggest Weekend
Hometown: Emporia, KS
Began racing at age 5
Raced motocross for 9 years…over 200 wins
Drove Pony Stock cars at Thunderhill Speedway in Kansas
Won 2000 Modified Division Championship
In 2001: Won 2 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Championships at two different tracks.
In 2002 he won Championships in two different divisions, Dirt Modified and Late Models…Midwest Region Championship, 2nd in National Championship.
NASCAR AutoZone Elite Series 2003
2004: Finished Season for RCR in #21 Busch Car which he shared with Kevin Harvick
In 17 Starts had 1 Pole (Talladega 4-24-04)
7 Top 10’s…led 2 races for 108 laps…best finish was 3rd at Nashville
In only his second start…he finished 4th…after leading 104 of 170 laps…at Nashville
2005: Tied for second in Busch Points with Martin Truex Jr.…51 behind leader Reed Sorenson.
Ran Cup race at Phoenix in the #33 Sylvania Car S25 F22…1 Lap Down
2006. 17th in Cup Points, 3rd in Busch Points
2007: 3rd in Cup Points, 12th in Busch Points
2008: Ranked 7th in Cup Points, 1st in Nationwide Points
Clint is a huge Elvis Presley fan and collects hot rods.
I predict Clint Bowyer WILL win the NASCAR Championship in 2008…in the Nationwide Series.