NASCAR star Clint Bowyer looks back at short-track roots

Published 6:48 pm Wednesday, September 30, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A young dirt-track driver from Kansas spent two years of his life working toward winning a championship. When he broke through to win the title seven years ago this month, he knew he had done something special. What he didn’t know was the doors of opportunity were suddenly well-oiled and ready to swing wide open.

The driver was Clint Bowyer, 2002 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Midwest Region champion.

Beyond his wildest dreams, today Bowyer has won in all three of NASCAR’s national series, won the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship and has finished as high as third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings.

“Winning that NASCAR weekly series championship showed me I could make a living at racing, and the trophy I got is still one of the biggest trophies I have. To this day, I think the NASCAR weekly series is the most important series NASCAR has,” Bowyer said.

The championship trophy was one thing. The series awards banquet where he received it was something else.

“The banquet was very cool. Very big-time,” Bowyer said. “The lights, the glamour, the videos … NASCAR blew it up big.”

Bowyer won his regional championship racing at a pair of Kansas City-area half-mile tracks, one a low-banked clay oval on which he raced dirt Modifieds and the other a high-banked paved track where he races Late Models. His combined record for the 2002 season was 10 wins and 18 top-fives in 19 starts.

Bowyer had made the acquaintance of Kevin Harvick, who was driving for Richard Childress Racing and was sponsored by Sonic restaurants. A local Sonic franchisee sponsored Bowyer’s two race cars, so the two made an occasional appearance together.

In 2003, Bowyer moved to the former NASCAR Midwest Series and, with the support of Sonic, was able to arrange a couple of ARCA races to get some big car, big track experience.

His first ARCA start was scheduled for Nashville Superspeedway. It was there that the door to a driver’s seat at Richard Childress Racing opened wide. Bowyer caught Childress’ eye by leading 47 laps of the Nashville event, eventually finishing second to Mario Gosellin.

After two NASCAR Camping World Series West starts for Bill McAnally Racing in early 2004, Bowyer was partnered with Harvick in RCR’s No. 21 NASCAR Nationwide Series Chevrolet. Bowyer won his first career pole award at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in his third career start. The following year, Bowyer made his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start for Childress, which eventually became his full-time ride.

“Even our success in that Nashville ARCA race goes back to the NASCAR weekly series,” Bowyer said. “That’s what enabled us to get to that ARCA race.

“Back then I wouldn’t have believed everything that’s happened. It means a lot to me because it’s what you work your whole life for.”

Bowyer still stays in touch with his dirt track roots. He owns a touring dirt Late Model driven by Dale McDowell. Bowyer also finished second to Tony Stewart in the “Prelude to a Dream” dirt Late Model all-star race at Stewart’s Eldora Speedway in Ohio. He’ll be racing this weekend at his home dirt track just down the road from Kansas Speedway where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competes this weekend.

Bowyer also enjoys getting away to an occasional pavement short track as well. He was amazed at the action he saw at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. The flat quarter-mile oval is home to some of the most contentious NASCAR Modified racing in the country.

“What a spectacle that is,” he said of the open-wheel division on America’s ultimate short track. “The fans. The noise. The racing. That’s what it’s all about.”