I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. It’s a darn good thing that the rules for Old Testament prophets don’t apply for NASCAR prognosticators. I’ve been accused of having rock In my head, but if the ancient rules applied, I’d have rocks on my head- lying outside the city walls in a heap.I looked back at the February 6 edition of Bump Drafts where me, Patrick Reynolds, Jeremy T. Sellers, and Miss Mustang Jackie all made our “Fearless Forecasts” for 2009. We all had varying lists, many of the usual suspects were there- but one name was missing from ALL our lists for the 2009 Chase.
Clint Bowyer did not make ONE single top 12 list. Not one of us forecasted him for another race for the chase this year. If he keeps it up- the “double triple” will get the last laugh. In one of NASCAR’s better kept secrets, Bowyer is running second behind Jeff Gordon in the season points.
“Yeah, but that’s just four races” you may say.True that, but a little look into history says the race gods may be smiling on him leading up to the All-Star weekend in mid-May.
Last year, Bowyer posted an average finish of 7.1 in 2008 over the seven races to come: Bristol, Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix, Talladega, Richmond and Darlington. In fact- you may recall “Kansas Clint” was the beneficiary of the Busch- Earnhardt incident to win at Richmond. Talk about your classic case of sticking it to the man, here was a Jack Daniels car winning a race sponsored by Crown Royal (though it should be mentioned that BB&T was actually on the car in this race,as pointed out by one smart Bowyer fan- see comment #1 below. Thanks Pete.).
Ironic, isn’t it?
He’s got more than history going for him. Clint Bowyer is out of the gate better than last year. In much the same way as his RCR teammates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, Bowyer has developed a knack for steering around and through the trouble to show up at the end after no one has said a peep about him all day.
Impressive concerning Bowyer’s performance is this is being done with a new team. Don’t forget he was moved over in the Childress expansion while the transplanted Casey Mears took over the “ought-seven.”
So when it comes to surprises in 2009- I don’t let myself get too wowed over the resurgence of Jeff Gordon. I predicted that. Bobby Labonte’s improved performance? I wasn’t terribly shocked by that either. He was my dark horse pick for ‘09. David Reutimann? My “pleasant surprise” for the season.
Clint Bowyer? That’s another story. Where we’ll wind up by chase time is really anybody’s guess, but I’ve got my eye on him while we’re in a portion of schedule that favors him.
That’s the beauty of NASCAR. You can predict things all you want, but it has to play out on the track, and there’s a hundred things that have to fall into place to win.
A lot of those things are going Clint Bowyer’s way.
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Thank you for the coverage of Clint Bowyer. In this article, you say that Clint won the Crown Royal race in a car sponsored by Jack Daniel’s. While that is partly true, BB&T was the primary sponsor that day, and JD was an associate on the car.
Regardless of where things pan out for Clint in the next seven races, he is still a heck of a driver and unfortunately flies under the radar.
I thought Bowyer would struggle a little with a new team but would be in winning form by the end of the season. I’m happy to see one of the sleepers up front early.
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