(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)
By Aaron Bearden
Clint Bowyer has never been one to hold back with his thoughts or opinions, so when asked about his desires for 2021 and beyond the veteran made his intentions clear.
He wants to stay at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) until he retires from racing.
“Stewart-Haas is a wonderful organization,” Bowyer said in a Monday teleconference. “I want to be there. I want to retire there, and I love the opportunity, the people behind it.
“I believe in, all the pieces of the puzzle are there. The manufacturer in Ford, I mean we’re sitting here representing Ford today, and you couldn’t ask for a better manufacturer that’s invested in this sport the way they are. Again, it’s a perfect fit for me.”
Bowyer arrived at SHR in 2017 during what was seen as a career resurgence. After riding out the closure of Michael Waltrip Racing and a lame duck year at HScott Motorsports in 2016, Bowyer was given the opportunity to replace retiring legend Tony Stewart in the No. 14 entry.
The 41-year-old has been with the teem ever since, rolling through its first year with Ford in 2017 and scoring two race wins in 2018. The 2019 season was a quiet one, but Bowyer finished ninth in points on-track and re-signed with the team heading into 2020.
His future beyond this season was uncertain heading into the year, and the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent financial strain across the world has only served to increase the uncertainty and pressure on drivers without a guaranteed ride for 2021.
With racing in full swing Bowyer admitted that he hasn’t had many discussions with his team about 2021 yet. He’s instead focused more on his race program, where he’s trying to improve from his current 15th-place spot on the playoff grid that is “absolutely not” where he wants to be with the postseason approaching.
“No, I haven’t really talked to them much about it,” Bowyer said of his negotiations. “I mean, I’ve been talking to partners and things like that and just trying to do everything I can do to make sure that all the things line up for next year for them. That’s what I can do.
“I’ve got to do a better job inside the race car. We’ve got to do a better job of getting this 14 car back up front where it belongs. Doesn’t matter what you do outside the car if you’re not taking care of business in the car, you shouldn’t be in any of them.”
Racing during the pandemic return since May has been a challenge for Bowyer, with the veteran struggling to find track position. After showing pace early on, Bowyer dropped to 13th in the standings after a crash at Talladega Superspeedway. With field drawing for starting positions in groups of 12, that’s left him in the second group for the past five races, drawing for positions 13-24.
He believes it’s had a negative effect on his results over the past month.
“We’ve run into some bumps in the road,” he admitted. “And honestly, I hate to say it, I can almost pinpoint it on Talladega. You put it on Talladega and flip that over. And the next two months have been drastically different because of that, literally, every time we start the race we’re behind.
“You’re behind cars that are hard to catch up with. If those guys hang, you know, 8 to 10 points of stage points on you. It’s a bit virtually impossible. You’ve got to do something then to try to differentiate yourself and nine times out of 10 the way that these races are, things don’t work out. Then you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t on a strategy call.”
While his on-track results have dipped a bit, Bowyer’s gained traction as a commentator during an increased role in the FOX Sports booth. He became a regular during the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series and has since made other appearances during races from other NASCAR national series.
It’s something Bowyer’s enjoyed, but his heart remains behind the wheel for now.
“I’m a race car driver, man,” he said. “I love doing the broadcasts and things like that, but I think that time will come, and I don’t know when that’ll be. No, I want to race and I want to be in a race car. I love competing. I love being pissed off at the end of a race. I love being happy at the end of a race. I love that adrenaline of lining up next to that guy and wondering how in the hell you’re going to come off of Turn 2 ahead of him.
“That’s a feeling that can’t be replaced.”
For now he’ll keep waiting to find out if he gets to continue experiencing that feeling with SHR in 2021.
