TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Clint Bowyer — Notes & Quotes
Atlanta Motor Speedway – August 31, 2012
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY, Michael Waltrip Racing Do you enjoy racing at Atlanta? “This is a fun weekend for everybody in the garage. This is always a pretty special place. It’s really a big change of pace from where we’ve been — we’ve been at a lot of race tracks that have been repaved and have a ton of grip. We get here with a track surface that doesn’t have a lot of grip — the tire wears out a lot. Like I said, it’s a pretty big change of pace for all of us in the garage area. So far, the 5-hour ENERGY Toyota has been pretty good and looking forward to the weekend. It’s going to be a long, hot one.”
What does it mean to have NAPA and Martin Truex Jr. renew their contract? “That’s a huge announcement for all of us at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) — getting him (Martin Truex Jr.) signed and getting that sponsor (NAPA) signed back up for three more years, it’s very, very important. Huge sponsor there in the sport of NASCAR. They bought all the races and that’s unheard of in today’s day and age. We’re very proud to have three great primary sponsors on all three MWR cars. Martin and I both raced back in the Nationwide days together and had a lot of fun pushing each other and racing each other very hard. See a lot of that same relationship going on right now where we’re pushing each other, work together well, our teams and crew chiefs, engineers — everybody just works really hard and pulls in the same direction at MWR. Making sure that we have all that locked up for multi years in very good for everybody at MWR.”
How has the engineering and competition side of MWR improved? “Just super proud of everything that MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) has going on with the engineering side. The competition side has just turned a page — it’s unbelievable the difference one year can make in an organization. A lot of new faces there, but a huge turnaround in the performance side of it. Backing that up with the way they handle our sponsors on the marketing side, it’s just a great platform for anybody to be employed in. As far as the competition side, Scott Miller (vice president of competition for MWR) coming over with me was a good thing. Very happy — have a lot of confidence in Scott Miller and everything that’s gone on with the competition side at MWR.”
How have you been able to help Michael Waltrip Racing? “I think what I can bring to the table personally is kind of what I brought to the table from the get go is just make this fun. It’s such a grinding schedule. It’s a ton of pressure each and every week and you’ve got to make sure that your guys are having fun doing it. I felt like if you look at our last 10 races compared to our competition, we’re sitting pretty good. Moving into the Chase with a lot of confidence, a lot of momentum and I think that’s crucial. You have to be able to do that. Some of the first races of the Chase are some of my best race tracks as a driver, so it’s so important to get things going and get them started off on the right foot. Looking forward to Chicago and New Hampshire and hopefully getting things started with a bang.”
Would it be difficult to be in the Chase with a team you know you are leaving at year’s end? “Well, for me, it was a whole different sort of circumstances. I wasn’t in the Chase and I wasn’t racing for a championship, so it was really difficult for me to figure out what in the hell I was doing at the race track. It’s just of kind of buying your time ready to move on to the next chapter in your career. For him, he’s racing for a championship and he’s a championship driver. He’s done it before. He’s got a great team and, to me, is a threat to win any race and especially a championship. I think it would be — just putting myself in his shoes — what a better circumstance to win a championship and say, ‘Alright boys, see you. I’m moving on.’ It would be a pretty cool feeling for Matt (Kenseth).”
