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NASCAR Buy or Sell: Is Clint Bowyer Ready to Win Again?

By Trevor Grasso

May 7, 2017; Talladega, AL, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer (14) is introduced before the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
May 7, 2017; Talladega, AL, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer (14) is introduced before the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 18, 2017; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer (14) during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2017; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer (14) during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

It has been a long time since Clint Bowyer has enjoyed a NASCAR victory. The newest member of Stewart-Haas Racing is looking to end his winless streak in 2017.

Clint Bowyer is one of the more popular drivers in NASCAR. He has the type of personality that fans love. People want to see Bowyer succeed because he is an all-around good guy and has proven in the past that he can be a very good race car driver.

It has been 160 races since Bowyer last won in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Bowyer’s last win came at Charlotte in the fall of 2012. He finished that season 2nd in the standings behind only series champion Brad Keselowski. His career has taken many turns since that season, which have ultimately landed him in the No. 14 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. Now that he is settled with his new team, can Bowyer get back to Victory Lane?

Clint Bowyer is ready to drive back to Victory Lane: BUY

Last year, Clint Bowyer suffered through the worst season of his career. The switch from Michael Waltrip Racing to Stewart-Haas racing had year-long gap as Tony Stewart finished out his career, leaving Bowyer to drive for HScott Motorsports in 2016.

With HScott Motorsports, Bowyer averaged a 23.6 finish with only three top 10 finishes. The transition to Stewart-Haas could not come soon enough. But many wondered if Bowyer would be able to get back to the high level of driving that we saw from him in his better seasons with Michael Waltrip Racing and Richard Childress Racing.

The Daytona 500 marked his debut in the No. 14 as he replaced the seat left vacated by team co-owner and former driver Tony Stewart. Unfortunately, the day did not go as planned and Bowyer finished 32nd after a wreck. Fans were haunted by the ghosts of Bowyer’s 2016 season.

Since then, Bowyer has turned things around. In the ten races following Daytona, Bowyer has finished in the top 15 in all of them. In fact, his 11.5 average finish through 11 races matches his career best from 2008 to open a season.

With a better team around him, Bowyer has shown early on that he can contend for race wins once again. Stewart-Haas Racing is a championship-caliber organization that produced Kevin Harvick’s championship season in 2014, his first year with the team. They brought Bowyer in with high expectations. Bowyer signed on with the intent to become one of the top drivers in the series once again.

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He may not be ready to win a championship right away like Harvick was in 2014, but Bowyer definitely seems poised to break through and win his first race since 2012. Following the Monster Energy All-Star race weekend, NASCAR stays in Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 next week. What better track to win at for the first time in four-plus years than where he got his most recent win in 2012?

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