Q&A with Clint Bowyer – 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion

Carl Edwards may have won the Nationwide Series season finale at the Homestead Miami Speedway, but it was fifth-place finisher Clint Bowyer who took home the big prize, clinching the 2008 Nationwide Series Championship by 21 points.

Clint Bowyer:
Carl gave us a hell of a run for our money right there at the end, he did, you knew it was coming. He was going for it and then, when Carl Edwards goes for it he goes for it. Just really proud of you know, all the guys, they did an extremely good job. BB&T backed us, Camping World, everybody that’s involved with this, Snap-on and Richard for giving me the opportunity. It means so much to be able to come out and compete at this level and to be able to win a championship it’s really cool.

Four races ago, 2007 Nationwide Series champion Edwards was seemingly out of contention for this year—but three wins and a runner-up finish brought him just 21 points shy of a second-consecutive title.

Carl Edwards:
Definitely it’s frustrating to not win the championship, I mean that’s what we set out to do this season. But I believe that I understand the spots of where we lost it, things that I did that cost us some points, and I think over the last, I don’t know, 10 or 15 races, we have executed and performed at a really high level. If we can continue that going into next season, then it might almost be worth it, you know, to have learned what we learned this season even though it cost us a championship. But yeah so it is frustrating but trust me there’s no shame in trying your hardest and giving it all you’ve got and getting beat. You know you’ve just got to keep going.

Bowyer reflected on his humble beginnings as he savored his victory.

Bowyer:
It’s just incredible. I mean, it makes you think back to how it all started, you know working in a body shop in Kansas and trying to figure out what was the next move. You’re out of money, your parents gave up, you know, three retirements to get you to where you’re at and you know it was kind of the end of the road and out of nowhere my cell phone rings and it was Richard. You know it’s just unbelievable to think back how my career started with a race in Nashville and then winning my first race in the Nationwide Series at Nashville, and you know very proud to be able to do this for Richard. Kind of feels like giving back for taking a chance on me, and you know it finally paid off for him.

To hear an audio version of this interview and more about the race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, visit http://www.nationwide.com/about-us/bowyer-wins-title.jsp

This content was provided by:

Nancy Smeltzer
Nationwide Insurance
Communications Consultant

Bowyer Wins First Nationwide Title

Clint Bowyer isn’t an electrifying driver. He doesn’t drive aggressively, rather he is more steady and calm on the track. His driving style and personality are quite similar to that of Jimmie Johnson. Now, he hasn’t quite mastered the art of winning in the NASCAR Sprint Cup the way Johnson has, but with a 56-point lead going into the Nationwide Series finale at the Ford 300 in Homestead, securing a championship would be a step in the right direction.

And Bowyer did just that. All he needed was to finish in the top eight to keep Carl Edwards from winning his second straight title. He did that easily, taking fifth to stay on top of the standings, right where he has been most of the year despite winning only one of 35 races.

Bowyer fell out of the top 10 several times in the first half of the race. He actually trailed Edwards in points several times, but his team used a two-tire pit stop during a caution just past the halfway point to get its driver into the top five, and he managed to stay there the rest of the race.

In the end, it came down to two different types of seasons that led to the crowning of the Champion.

Bowyer’s season was all about consistency. In fact, his season was right on par with Matt Kenseth’s 2003 NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship. That year Kenseth logged 25 top-10’s and 11 top-5’s, were as Bowyer this year logged 29 top-10’s and 14-top-5’s. However, each was only able to grab the check flag once during their victory campaign.

Edwards drove the #60 to another great Nationwide season. And in the last race of the year, he did everything he could, other than getting the five-point bonus for leading the most laps. Carl finished the year with seven victories, 22 top-10’s and 19 top-5’s. Unfortunately, it was his inconsistency that cost him back-to-back championships. He finished 20th or worse five times, and logged two DNF’s.

Congratulations Clint Bowyer!