NASCAR: Five Drivers Who Need To Step It Up In 2016

Apr 17, 2015; Bristol, TN, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer (15) during practice for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Clint Bowyer

2015 was not a good year for Clint Bowyer. The Emporia, Kansas driver went winless in the Sprint Cup Series for the third straight season. Bowyer finished in the top five only twice during the season, scored 12 top 10s and led a paltry 11 laps.

In spite of the poor statistics, Bowyer managed to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup. His chances at contending for the series title came to an abrupt end following the first Chase race at Chicagoland when NASCAR found illegal truck arms on his car and penalized him 25 points.

2016 will be a transition year for Bowyer as he moved from Michael Waltrip Racing to Harry Scott Motorsports, replacing Justin Allgaier. The move is only temporary as Bowyer is already lined up to take over Tony Stewart’s ride at Stewart-Haas Motorsports when Stewart retires after 2016. It will be most interesting to see what Bowyer can do with a team that has not proven to be capable of being a top 10 competitor every race.

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