Clint Bowyer hopes to send MWR out in style with surprise Chase run

Clint Bowyer is proud of his roots in being from Emporia, Kan., so it seemed fitting to see the NASCAR driver sporting a Kansas City Royals cap when he arrived at Klyde Warren Park for part of NASCAR’s “Chase Across North America Day” on Tuesday afternoon.

Bowyer switched to a Texas Motor Speedway cap for the actual event, which featured him going “undercover” as one of the track’s cameramen and surprising season-ticket holders.

But Bowyer would love nothing more than to emulate an unexpected run in racing’s playoffs much like his Royals did in baseball a year ago.

Bowyer, despite having what he called the worst season of his 10-year career, qualified for the 16-driver Chase, and is looking to send Michael Waltrip Racing out in style. Bowyer hasn’t thought too much about his future and feels his track record speaks for itself when it comes to landing another ride next season.

For now, he is focused on the Chase and believes his team is well positioned to become a Cinderella-type story in the knockout-style format.

“We’re going to go out and give it all we got,” Bowyer said. “I really do believe we can make a lot more noise than what people will give you credit for right now.

“This is a whole new reset, new opportunity, new crack at bat. That brings so much enthusiasm and excitement to my attitude and everybody else’s at MWR. That’s a huge, huge thing.”

Bowyer and the rest of the of the folks at MWR certainly needed something to reinvigorate them after learning that the team would fold at the end of the season. Now, instead of focusing on their pending unemployment, the team is going all-in for one last hurrah.

And there’s no reason not to in this Chase format that enters its second year. This format allows underdogs such as Bowyer to make unexpected runs, similar to lower-seeds in college basketball advancing during March Madness.

Bowyer pointed to Ryan Newman’s team making it to the championship round last year, despite Newman not winning a single race, as a prime example of what can happen.

“Is it fair? No … Hell no,” Bowyer said. “Let’s face it, if we’re talking about fair in sports, there’s really no fairness in sports anyways.

“Once you get into the Chase, so many things change. People who have been solid, it’s very easy to buckle under the pressure. … To be honest with you, being on the bubble, being on the backside of that, is by far way less stressful. It’s fun to go into it with no pressure on, just go out there and push it as hard as you can.”

Bowyer and his team should be racing as if there’s nothing to lose. On top of the team going out of business, it’s been what most would consider a disappointing season.

Bowyer had a career-low two top-five runs, an average finish of 16.7 and is in the midst of a 103-race win-less drought dating back to October 2012.

“It’s been disappointing for me, certainly the worst year I’ve ever had in my career this year,” Bowyer said. “That being said, look where we are. We’re in the Chase. I literally had the worst year ever in my whole career, and I’m how many points out of the lead?”

Bowyer is right and is only 12 points back of the leaders going into the Chase’s opening race Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. He feels confident at most of the tracks in the Chase, but acknowledged getting off to a strong start in Chicago would be important for the No. 15 team.

The team has struggled at the 1.5-mile tracks with their aerodynamics package, however as Bowyer repeatedly said, what has happened doesn’t really matter anymore. It’s all about what they do going forward.

“I’m telling you, if you see that 15 ball come out of Chicago with a top-10,” Bowyer said, “the race is on.”

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Clint Bowyer hopes to send MWR out in style with surprise Chase run."