-
Bob PockrassNASCAR
Clint Bowyer loves coming back to his home state, so anytime he arrives at Kansas Speedway, he knows he will enjoy a little more love and have more friends and family watching him.
But it seems like forever since the Emporia native has come to Kansas in October and actually has had something to race for when he gets behind the wheel.
Not since 2012 has he been remotely in the NASCAR Cup series championship hunt by the time of the Kansas race. Even before then, he had been in the title hunt only twice.
So he can puff out his chest a little more when he races in front of family this weekend, as he sits seventh in the Cup standings with a shot of advancing to the third (semifinal) round.
Not that he will be braggadocious about it. Bowyer isn’t that type of guy. But he will relish the fact his family and friends will have something big to cheer for when they come to watch him Sunday at 2 p.m. ET (NBC), as they’ll see the Stewart-Haas No. 14 car zoom by in an elimination race.
“Of course it matters,” Bowyer said. “This is a big deal. We’re running well. We ran well all year. You damn sure don’t want it to end early.
“You want to be in it all the way down to the wire. That’s what they pay us to do.”
In the past four years, Bowyer had not made the playoffs or had been knocked out before Kansas. He was virtually eliminated of any shot in 2013 because of the Richmond race manipulation penalty.
“Race car drivers are prideful people,” Bowyer said. “We came from humble beginnings, we came from a work ethic through our parents and family of racing and working hard to get where you are.
“Through all that hard work and dedication and sacrifice and everything else comes a great deal of pride of being where you’re at. Anytime you’re not able to go to the racetrack and necessarily have that pride for that given day, it is hard and challenging.”
Back in 2012, he entered fourth in the standings, just 28 points behind the series leader, and finished sixth at Kansas. He also was still in contention in 2007 (fifth in points, finished second at Kansas) and 2008 (sixth in points, finished 12th at Kansas).
Clearly, the pressure of performing on his home track had not gotten to him. He will need to perform Sunday to advance. He is three points ahead of eighth place and 21 points ahead of the current cutoff.
Bowyer has no plans to limit personal interactions due to what’s on the line.
“The more, the merrier,” Bowyer said. “I probably work better with distractions. It just keeps my mind off worrying about things that you shouldn’t be worrying about anyway.
“You need to be focused. You need to be thinking. But worrying doesn’t do anybody any good.”
Should he worry? He’ll likely be OK as long as the winners don’t come from drivers outside the top eight in the standings such as the 9-12 placeholders — Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman. But Larson is strong at Kansas, as is eighth-place Martin Truex Jr. (who swept the 2017 races at Kansas), so Bowyer can’t count out being in a precarious spot depending on how the race shakes out.
“Now we happen to go home to take care of business to seal the deal to keep your playoff and championship hopes alive — it’s neat to go home with a lot on the line and racing for something,” Bowyer said.
“This is what gets your blood flowing. This is what gets you excited. This is what we live for as race car drivers.”
Bowyer has had a season that many would live for, as he already has two wins this year — at Martinsville and Michigan. He has finished in the top three in two of his past three races.
“You knew going into this thing, the kind of year that we had, we were one of the teams that were talked about that could potentially go to the championship,” Bowyer said.
“We know that. I know that. I knew our team’s capability. You also know what you’re up against in this playoff structure — it’s a three-race dash.”
The first race of the current round didn’t go as planned, as Bowyer ran near the front much of the day, but a ball joint broke, resulting in a crash and a 35th-place finish. He then nearly won Sunday at Talladega, finishing second.
So he heads into Kansas in better shape than he was after Dover but also having nothing guaranteed unless he wins at a track where he has two top-fives but no victories in 20 Cup starts.
“My dad hates me … he’d say, ‘Dammit, boy, don’t you ever do anything the easy way? You always like to be nerve-wracking and not being able to sleep and going into these races scared s—less and not knowing if we’re going to make it or not?'” Bowyer said.
“I don’t know. Maybe it is that way. But certainly it’s going to be that way in Kansas. We’re going to have to dig deep and get everything out of it and have a big day there to keep our championship hopes alive.”