NASCAR: Clint Bowyer out at Stewart-Haas Racing after 2020
By Asher Fair
Clint Bowyer will not return to Stewart-Haas Racing for what would have been a fifth year in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season is Clint Bowyer’s fourth season behind the wheel of the #14 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, and it will be the final one, he announced on Thursday evening.
Bowyer, who replaced team co-owner Tony Stewart behind the wheel of the #14 Chevrolet-turned-Ford after the 2016 season once he retired, is set to move to the FOX booth for Cup Series races on Sundays.
He confirmed this news on Twitter.
— Clint Bowyer (@ClintBowyer) October 8, 2020
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Bowyer has competed in 139 races for Stewart-Haas Racing, and he has won twice. He ended a win drought of over five seasons at Martinsville Speedway in March of 2018 before winning a rain-shortened race at Michigan International Speedway in June. He has earned 10 wins over the course of his career, which dates back to 2005.
He has not missed a race since he become a full-time driver for Richard Childress Racing back in 2006, and his streak of consecutive starts currently sits at 535 with five races to go in the 2020 season before he retires from full-time competition.
No replacement for Bowyer behind the wheel of the #14 Ford has been named, but all signs point to either Erik Jones joining the team from Joe Gibbs Racing or Chase Briscoe moving from Stewart-Haas Racing’s Xfinity Series program to their Cup Series program.
With Corey LaJoie set to leave the Stewart-Haas Racing-affiliated Go Fas Racing after the 2020 season as well, the idea has been floated that Briscoe could potentially end up behind the wheel of the #32 Ford as well.
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Bowyer’s departure marks five consecutive years of Stewart-Haas Racing switching up their driver lineup between seasons. Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola are both under contract for next season, with rookie Cole Custer slated to return as well.