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Sprint Cup
CUP: Bowyer Feeling Chase Pressure
Clint Bowyer is 12th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings...
Clint Bowyer (Pictured) held off Ken Schrader in a green-white-checkered finish at Volusia Speedway Park for the first victory of his career in the DIRTcar Nationals. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Clint Bowyer admits it isn’t easy being the driver on the Chase bubble. The Richard Childress Racing driver sits 12th in the standings and has a 35-point edge on Mark Martin with three races left before the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set.
But Bowyer has a few things in his favor. He’s in a better position than last year at this time, when he was 14th in the standings and 62 points out of 12th. And he has run better than his finishes indicate.
That hasn’t necessarily been true for the drivers trying to catch him. In addition to Martin, Ryan Newman is 103 points behind Bowyer while Jamie McMurray is 105 points back, Kasey Kahne 126 back and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 129.
“We’ve run better than the guys around us,” Bowyer said. “We just have. On the flip side of it, we haven’t done a good job of finishing these races. We’ve got to be able to do that. We’ve got to be able to keep some of this bad luck behind us.
“If we can do that for three more races, we will be in this thing.”
Having missed the Chase last year after making it in his second and third Sprint Cup seasons, Bowyer wants to put an exclamation point on the comeback of Richard Childress Racing. Teammate Kevin Harvick had led the standings most of the season while Jeff Burton is seventh.
Bowyer thinks RCR’s resurgence also could be a factor in the Chase considering how well teammate Harvick has run this year.
“We can still turn things around, get our momentum back, regain our composure once we get in this Chase and have fun with it,” Bowyer said. “Right now, the situation we’re in, there’s no way you can say you’re not looking over your shoulder, you’re not protecting what you’ve got. … If we can get in the Chase, we’re the last guy to get in, there’s only one way to go.
“I’ve never finished out of the top five when I’ve been in the Chase. That’s what I’ve told [crew chief] Shane [Wilson], ‘Just get me in the Chase and we’ll have fun from there.’ The hardest thing for me seems like just to get in.”
Bowyer didn’t make it last year, but didn’t believe he deserved to be in the Chase after struggling most of the season.
“Last year, our cars weren’t running well,” Bowyer said. “We were trying to make something happen that wasn’t there. This year, we’re trying to make something happen that is clearly there.”
Bowyer ran in the top 10 throughout the race Sunday at Michigan but a four-tire pit stop put him in 15th at the end and he only got back up to 13th before the checkered flag. Martin hit the wall early and had damage to his car, finishing 28th, so Bowyer saw the race as a missed opportunity even though he moved from 10 points behind Martin to 35 ahead of him.
“I’d rather be 35 in the good than 10 to the bad where we were last week,” Bowyer said. “It is a missed opportunity. Mark had a little bit of trouble, and we needed to be able to capitalize on that.
“That’s kind of been the story all along. We’ve run well all race long and when the race shakes out, we haven’t been able to put ourselves in the right position.”
If that pattern continues, pit strategy or a late decision on tires could end up determining whether Bowyer makes the Chase.
“That’s where all the stress comes from,” Bowyer said. “We rode around for two and a half, three hours at Michigan and within two minutes we went from fifth to 15th. It’s just that quick the race can change with the way the caution comes out, the race shakes out.
“Sometimes it shakes out your way and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, you find yourself in a deep hole and you try to dig out of it as quick as you can, and that’s not a good feeling.”
Bowyer is feeling the pressure but understands it’s sports and not the end of the world.
“I’m not going to die in three weeks, but it’s a pretty big deal,” Bowyer said. “I ain’t myself, I can tell you that. It’s a big deal to our sponsors. … They expect you to do it. I expect to do it.
“It is a lot of pressure, but you’ve got to deal with it the same as anybody else. When I was 10 points out last week, it was a lot more pressure than when I’m 35 to the good.”
SceneDaily.com • Juan Pablo Montoya, Earnhardt Ganassi team riding momentum after long-sought victory
But Bowyer has a few things in his favor. He’s in a better position than last year at this time, when he was 14th in the standings and 62 points out of 12th. And he has run better than his finishes indicate.
That hasn’t necessarily been true for the drivers trying to catch him. In addition to Martin, Ryan Newman is 103 points behind Bowyer while Jamie McMurray is 105 points back, Kasey Kahne 126 back and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 129.
“We’ve run better than the guys around us,” Bowyer said. “We just have. On the flip side of it, we haven’t done a good job of finishing these races. We’ve got to be able to do that. We’ve got to be able to keep some of this bad luck behind us.
“If we can do that for three more races, we will be in this thing.”
Having missed the Chase last year after making it in his second and third Sprint Cup seasons, Bowyer wants to put an exclamation point on the comeback of Richard Childress Racing. Teammate Kevin Harvick had led the standings most of the season while Jeff Burton is seventh.
Bowyer thinks RCR’s resurgence also could be a factor in the Chase considering how well teammate Harvick has run this year.
“We can still turn things around, get our momentum back, regain our composure once we get in this Chase and have fun with it,” Bowyer said. “Right now, the situation we’re in, there’s no way you can say you’re not looking over your shoulder, you’re not protecting what you’ve got. … If we can get in the Chase, we’re the last guy to get in, there’s only one way to go.
“I’ve never finished out of the top five when I’ve been in the Chase. That’s what I’ve told [crew chief] Shane [Wilson], ‘Just get me in the Chase and we’ll have fun from there.’ The hardest thing for me seems like just to get in.”
Bowyer didn’t make it last year, but didn’t believe he deserved to be in the Chase after struggling most of the season.
“Last year, our cars weren’t running well,” Bowyer said. “We were trying to make something happen that wasn’t there. This year, we’re trying to make something happen that is clearly there.”
Bowyer ran in the top 10 throughout the race Sunday at Michigan but a four-tire pit stop put him in 15th at the end and he only got back up to 13th before the checkered flag. Martin hit the wall early and had damage to his car, finishing 28th, so Bowyer saw the race as a missed opportunity even though he moved from 10 points behind Martin to 35 ahead of him.
“I’d rather be 35 in the good than 10 to the bad where we were last week,” Bowyer said. “It is a missed opportunity. Mark had a little bit of trouble, and we needed to be able to capitalize on that.
“That’s kind of been the story all along. We’ve run well all race long and when the race shakes out, we haven’t been able to put ourselves in the right position.”
If that pattern continues, pit strategy or a late decision on tires could end up determining whether Bowyer makes the Chase.
“That’s where all the stress comes from,” Bowyer said. “We rode around for two and a half, three hours at Michigan and within two minutes we went from fifth to 15th. It’s just that quick the race can change with the way the caution comes out, the race shakes out.
“Sometimes it shakes out your way and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, you find yourself in a deep hole and you try to dig out of it as quick as you can, and that’s not a good feeling.”
Bowyer is feeling the pressure but understands it’s sports and not the end of the world.
“I’m not going to die in three weeks, but it’s a pretty big deal,” Bowyer said. “I ain’t myself, I can tell you that. It’s a big deal to our sponsors. … They expect you to do it. I expect to do it.
“It is a lot of pressure, but you’ve got to deal with it the same as anybody else. When I was 10 points out last week, it was a lot more pressure than when I’m 35 to the good.”
SceneDaily.com • Juan Pablo Montoya, Earnhardt Ganassi team riding momentum after long-sought victory
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