History of Clint Bowyer in Timeline
May 30, 1979
Clinton Aaron Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for NASCAR on Fox. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports.
1996
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.
2003
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.
2004
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.
2005
Bowyer's first full Busch season was in 2005, replacing Ron Hornaday in the No. 2 ACDelco-sponsored Chevrolet. He won two poles and two races en route to a second-place finish to repeat champion Martin Truex Jr., losing by only 68 points. He also made his Nextel Cup debut in the No. 33 Sylvania-sponsored Chevy on April 23, 2005, during the Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. He finished 22nd as the first car one lap down. Richard Childress Racing announced on October 15, 2005, that Bowyer would race the No. 07 Jack Daniel's-sponsored Chevrolet full-time in the Nextel Cup series, replacing Dave Blaney for the 2006 season.
November 03, 2006
Bowyer began his rookie Cup season with three Top 5 finishes and had a total of eleven Top 10s that season, with his best finish being a third at California Speedway. He finished 68 points behind Denny Hamlin for NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors. Bowyer also continued to drive the No. 2 in the Busch Series full-time, winning once and finishing third in points. Bowyer won his first Craftsman Truck Series race in the No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado fielded by Morgan-Dollar Motorsports at Texas Motor Speedway on November 3, 2006, in his third career Truck start, making his first CTS start that year at Martinsville for Green Light Racing.
April 20, 2007
For the 2007 Busch season, Bowyer ran a partial Busch Series schedule in the RCR No. 2 car. On April 20, 2007, he won the Busch Series Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. He followed that up with another Busch Series win on May 4, 2007, in the Circuit City 250 at Richmond International Raceway. Bowyer also ran select races for Kevin Harvick in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
2008
Bowyer started his own Dirt Late Model team, Clint Bowyer Racing in 2008. 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, 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.
2008
In 2008, Bowyer continued to drive in the Cup and Nationwide Series full-time. Bowyer dominated the late stages of the Daytona 500 but was spun out by Juan Pablo Montoya with 17 laps remaining. On May 3, 2008, Bowyer earned his second Sprint Cup victory, winning the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Speedway. Bowyer led only two laps, going to the front after Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch got together with less than four laps remaining in the race.
2008
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.
May 06, 2008
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.”
August 2008
During the Pepsi Max 400 weekend at Fontana, Bowyer and fellow Childress driver Austin Dillon taped an episode of The Price Is Right that was scheduled to feature NASCAR-themed Showcases (a practice that occurs during a Fontana race, host Drew Carey was the Grand Marshal of the August 2008 race) and aired on November 15, 2010. Bowyer finished 2nd to Tony Stewart in the race.
August 23, 2008
On August 23, 2008, Bowyer was announced as the driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet Impala SS for RCR. Casey Mears from Hendrick Motorsports replaced Bowyer in the Jack Daniel's-sponsored car. This move was necessitated by a sponsor's request, as General Mills did not want Mears, who had been driving in the 2008 season for rival cereal maker Kellogg's, representing them, so Childress sponsors General Mills and Brown-Forman Corporation (parent company to Jack Daniel's) agreed to the swap so Bowyer, who drove for Brown-Forman, would drive for General Mills, and Mears could drive for Brown-Forman, as they had no problems with Mears representing the company.
November 15, 2008
On November 15, 2008, Bowyer clinched the NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a narrow margin of victory over Carl Edwards of 21 points. Edwards won the race with Bowyer finishing 5th.
2009
Bowyer concentrated primarily on the Sprint Cup Series in 2009 and drove the No. 33 Chevrolet Impala to 15th place in the season standings. Bowyer trimmed his participation in the Nationwide series to 12 races but performed well, winning at Daytona (July 3) and Dover (September 26), finishing in the Top 5 in six of the 12 races and notching eight Top 10s.
2010
True to form, Bowyer, performed well early in 2010, finishing fourth in Daytona, seventh at Martinsville, and ninth at Phoenix to stand sixth after seven races. However, at Texas in the Samsung Mobile 500 (race 8), Bowyer got caught in a major crash on lap 317 that wiped out eight other drivers and caused a 19-minute red flag race stoppage. The resulting 36th-place finish dropped Bowyer to 14th position overall, only one point behind 12th-place Joey Logano. Seventh- and 12th-place finishes at Talladega and Richmond put Bowyer back into 12th place after 10 races.
2011
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.
October 07, 2011
On October 7, 2011, Bowyer signed a 3-year contract to race the No. 15 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, starting in 2012.
2012
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 show's star, Willie Robertson, who was using a similar limousine. 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.
March 12, 2012
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 being used for anything from business meetings to weddings to concerts, and he 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.
November 11, 2012
Coming to the white flag at the AdvoCare 500 (Phoenix) on November 11, 2012, Bowyer's rivalry with Jeff Gordon came to a head. Earlier in the race, Bowyer accidentally put Gordon into the wall. Gordon was then black-flagged for a failed attempt to cut Bowyer's tire. On the next-to-last lap, Gordon decided enough was enough and responded by intentionally wrecking Bowyer in turn three, collecting Joey Logano and Aric Almirola. After Gordon's car was parked behind his team's hauler, a member of Bowyer's team shoved Gordon from behind and both teams scuffled. After Bowyer entered the pit area with his damaged car and noticed his team was not in his pit stall, he sprinted towards Gordon's hauler attempting to enter it before being restrained by a single NASCAR official. The incident knocked Bowyer down to fourth place in the points standings and mathematically ended Bowyer's chance of winning the Championship. Bowyer was not penalized for his involvement in the fight, but his crew chief Brian Pattie was fined $35,000 after he expressed his displeasure with Gordon by using profanity on national television, forcing ESPN to apologize to viewers.
September 07, 2013
At Richmond International Raceway on September 7, 2013, Bowyer became the subject of controversy as, late in the race, his No. 15 Toyota spun; accusations were made that the spin was intentional, as part of an effort by MWR to ensure that Martin Truex Jr. qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR president Mike Helton stated the following morning that scoring officials on the scene did not believe the spin was intentional, but that NASCAR was reviewing the incident. The following Monday evening, NASCAR docked all three MWR teams, including Bowyer, 50 driver/owner points. MWR was also fined $300,000. Despite the large penalty, Bowyer retained enough points to remain in the Chase. He had already clinched a spot in the Chase at the Irwin Tools Night Race.
2014
With Tony Stewart's retirement, Bowyer moved from the No. 15 HSM Chevy to the No. 14 Stewart–Haas Racing Ford Fusion. Bowyer started the season with a 2nd-place finish on the 2nd Can-Am Duel. Bowyer got his first top-ten at Las Vegas with a 10th-place finish. Bowyer had a significantly better race at Auto Club, finishing third and a 2nd-place at Bristol several races later. After no top fives 7 races later he finished second at Sonoma behind teammate Kevin Harvick giving Stewart–Haas Racing its 2nd ever 1-2 finish for the first time since 2011. Bowyer finished second again at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona the following week. Deja vu happened as a mechanical issue in the Southern 500 at Darlington put Bowyer in a must-win situation at Richmond (just like in 2014) to make the Playoffs. He finished 24th after contact with Matt Kenseth as Kenseth avoided an ambulance at the entry of pit road while under caution and 18th in the final points standings.
April 2014
In April 2014, Bowyer married Lorra, and the couple has two children. He is an avid fan of the Kansas City Royals of MLB, the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL, and the University of Kansas Jayhawks of the NCAA.
August 19, 2015
Bowyer started off the season with a top 10 at Daytona. Despite having a few top tens throughout the year, on August 19, 2015, it was announced that Bowyer and MWR would part ways after the season ended, with MWR not fielding full-time teams in 2016. On September 30, 2015, it was announced that Tony Stewart (Stewart–Haas Racing) would retire from the NASCAR Sprint Cup series after the 2016 season and negotiated a contract which will allow Bowyer to drive the No. 14 car in the 2017 season. On October 2, 2015, it was announced that Bowyer would move to HScott Motorsports for the 2016 season replacing Justin Allgaier before making his transition to Stewart–Haas Racing the following season. On December 15, 2015, a leaked photo on Twitter showed that Bowyer would bring over his No. 15 and 5-Hour-Energy sponsorship from Michael Waltrip Racing to HScott Motorsports for his lone season with them. Bowyer made the Chase due to having enough points to qualify, but his Chase was hit heavily by a 25 driver and owner points penalty, a $75,000 fine, and the suspension of crew chief Billy Scott for 3 races. Bowyer appealed the penalties but they were upheld by the appeals panel. With the penalty, Bowyer didn't advance to the second round of the Chase.
2016
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."
2018
Bowyer got off to a strong start in 2018, posting Top 15 finishes in four of the first five events, including a third-place finish at the Atlanta race. On March 26, 2018, he broke a 190-race winless streak with a victory at the spring Martinsville race, which gave him his first Playoff run since 2015. Bowyer then scored his second win of the season at the rain-shortened June Michigan race. Despite bad finishes at Las Vegas and Dover, he has stayed consistent in the Playoffs, advancing to the Round of 8 before a crash at Phoenix eliminated him from the Playoffs. Bowyer finished the season 12th in points.
May 23, 2019
At the conclusion of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, Bowyer chopped Ryan Newman's nose which sent Bowyer into the wall during the cool-down lap. Following the race, Bowyer attacked Newman on pit road. Both drivers were called to the NASCAR hauler, but neither was penalized for the incident. During an autograph session at a Bass Pro Shops store on May 23, 2019, a fan brought a pair of boxing gloves for both drivers to sign. Despite a string of inconsistent finishes and no wins during the season, Bowyer managed to make the 2019 playoffs after finishing fifth at Indianapolis. On September 14, 2019, Bowyer won the pole at Las Vegas, his first pole since 2007. He finished fourth at the Charlotte Roval to advance to the Round of 12. Bowyer was eliminated in the Round of 12 after the Kansas race. He finished 9th in the final points standings despite not reaching victory lane as he did the season prior, his first top ten points finish since 2013. On December 4, 2019, Stewart–Haas Racing announced that Johnny Klausmeier would replace Mike Bugarewicz as the crew chief of the No. 14 team in 2020.
June 2019
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.
October 08, 2020
In March, Bowyer edged out Jimmie Johnson to win the pole for the Auto Club 400, the fourth of his career. He finished the race in 23rd place, one lap down. After accumulating seven top-ten finishes, including a runner-up finish at the spring Bristol race(his 82nd and final top-five), Bowyer qualified for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. On October 8, 2020, Bowyer revealed that he would be joining the Fox Sports broadcast booth for the 2021 season, stepping away from the driver's seat. Bowyer was eliminated from the playoffs after the round of 12. Bowyer scored his 226th and final top-ten at Martinsville and finished 14th at the season finale at Phoenix in his final race the following week. He finished 12th in the points standings in his final season.
October 08, 2020
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.
June 05, 2022
Bowyer was absent from Fox's final Cup Series broadcast of the season at Sonoma on June 12, 2022. Larry McReynolds had replaced him in the booth for practice/qualifying and the race. Jordan Bianchi from The Athletic reported that Bowyer was "handling a personal matter" and would miss the race weekend. On June 16, 2022, WDAF-TV reported that on June 5, 2022, at 9:00 p.m. Bowyer had hit a woman when driving home from the Cup Series race at Gateway earlier in the day. The incident took place on an exit ramp near Osage Beach, Missouri. The woman was pronounced dead and presumed to be under the influence. Bowyer's blood alcohol content was .000. An investigation revealed that the woman was walking along the exit ramp against the flow of traffic when she was struck by Bowyer's car. Furthermore, police found a bag of a crystalline substance among her personal items. A man questioned at a nearby campground said he and the woman used meth and alcohol earlier that day.
May 29, 2024
On May 29, 2024, it was announced that Bowyer would drive the No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck at Nashville after an 8-year hiatus from the truck series.