We have been reporting here at www.RantSports.com Clint Bowyer’s contract is up at the end of this year at Richard Childress Racing (RCR) driving the Number 33 car. RCR wanted to extend Clint’s contract but has not been able to secure sponsorship for his car next year. Clint wanted to stay with RCR. Richard Childress told Clint to look elsewhere. It was reported a few weeks ago that Clint was working with Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) on a contract and sponsors for a third MWR car. It is known that 5-hour Energy will be a sponsor on the car for about 20 races. A press conference is scheduled for Friday October 7th to confirm all of this plus release the details of the other primary sponsor.
If the slow economy has not hit you yet, you are lucky. If reading all the bad news about our economy on the front page of the newspapers and in the business sections is not enough to convince you how bad it is, then this is it. Clint Bowyer could be the poster boy of how bad the economy has hit NASCAR. When good NASCAR drivers can’t find a ride, it is bad! He did not want to move from a team where he has been very successful, but what are his options? None. If he wants to continue driving in Sprint Cup he must move to a team that has funding to race. Period!
Michael Waltrip Racing somehow was able to put together funding. This is very good for MWR as they will get a driver that is superior to the drivers they already have. A driver that will do nothing but improve MWR and its other drivers. A driver who has made the chase 3 times in the past and has been in the top 10 in points 3 of the last 6 years. For comparison, none of the other MWR drivers has ever made the Chase.
What could happen to Clint? Who really knows? He might just be the spark that makes the MWR teams title contenders. This is what MWR needs now more than ever.
Clint doesn’t need to look very far to see what else could happen. Brian Vickers was lured away from a very good team to start up Red Bull’s NASCAR effort. Brian’s stats since have been about the same as, and perhaps worse than, the other MWR drivers. Red Bull has announced they are giving up their NASCAR race teams at the end of this year. If Brian Vickers cannot put together someone to buy the Red Bull team he will also be without a ride next year. As I said previously, Clint Bower is in a tough spot. At least he has an option to keep going, but he will have his work cut out for him. I hope he succeeds.
Let me know what you think by Ranting below.
While it is easy to dismiss MWR, you have to remember that they were a scratch start up team with a new manufacturer. When RCR started it took them about 10 years to get their first wins. So by that standard they are ahead of the curve.
I’m not sure if he still works for MWR but if he does Pat Tryson might be a good fit with Clint.
All I think of when I hear Clint Bowyer is the rumor that he was trying to hold Childress up for 7 million/year. Oh well, now we will see the dissappearing Clint Bowyer at MWR.
1 mistake. One of the MWR drivers has made the chase before, Martin Truex Jr did in ’07 for DEI
Yes he did and he finished 11th. The point is he has gone nowhere since moving to MWR and has not made the chase again.