Clint Bowyer#33 Cheerios Chevrolet Impala
Richard Childress Racing
Starts (as of 3/25/09): 114
Wins: 2
Top 5s: 18
Top 10s: 48
Poles: 2
Clint Bowyer is a child of Kansas, born May 30, 1979 in Emporia. His racing career did not start with race cars but in motocross, where, over a period of eight years, he won many championships and over 200 races. In 1996 he switched from motorcycles to cars and eventually found his way into the ARCA series where he caught the attention of Richard Childress. After a few years in the Busch Series, he was moved up into the Nextel Cup Series in 2006.
2005
Clint Bowyer qualified and raced in only one race in 2005, the spring race at Phoenix. There he finished as the first car one lap down in 22nd. For that race he drove the #33 car, a number he would return to in 2009 after three years in the #07.
2006-2007
His rookie year in the Cup Series brought the typical ups and downs of a rookie. He finished second in the rookie of the year standings, behind Denny Hamlin, and 17th in the points standings, racing into four top 5s and 11 top 10s.
Bowyer started the 2007 in the highlight reels. With Kevin Harvick squeaking by Mark Martin for the Daytona 500 win with a massive wreck behind him, Bowyer crossed the finish line upside, getting pinballed around, and on fire before his car flipped back onto his wheels. A hardcore finish for the friggin Jack Daniel's Chevrolet. At Darlington, he won his first career pole and then made the Chase for the first time, along with teammates Harvick and Jeff Burton. Many people questioned Bowyer's place in the Chase as he had yet to prove himself and had not won a single race in his Cup career. He silenced the critics in the first race of the Chase at New Hampshire. He not only won the pole but dominated the race, leading 222 of the 300 laps to win his first career Cup Series race. He then became the dark horse for the championship, chasing Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, and finished a surprising third in the final points standings, with five top 5s and 17 top 10s
The paint scheme = pure awesome. A simple black scheme with Jack across the hood. It was simply badass. I also love how Jack Daniel's incorporated their No. 7 into the car's number (#7 was already being used by Robby Gordon so RCR had to use #07).
2008
The following year saw Bowyer as a Chase favorite but he struggled to make the Chase at the end, narrowly making the Chase ahead of a surprising David Ragan. This time around, Bowyer got his win out of the way early (and in light of the new Chase format where bonus points are awarded for race wins) with his win at Richmond, which was him simply being at the right place at the right time. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch were racing hard for the win and Busch wrecked Junior, allowing Bowyer to zoom past before the caution came out. In the Chase, he finished in the top 10 every other race and finished worst than 12th only once. But he was no match for the torrid pace set by Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle and this time Bowyer finished with seven top 5s, 17 top 10s, and fifth in the final standings.
The only change from 2006-2007 to this year is the use of the new car full-time.
2009
For 2009, Bowyer was placed into an entirely new team with RCR. Casey Mears had left Hendrick Motorsports after driving the #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet and the sponsor, General Mills, for the new RCR car had a problem with a driver being in its car after previously being sponsored by a competitor. So Bowyer was separated from the team he had been with for the past three years and placed in an entirely new team with no owner points while Mears was placed in the #07. At the last minute, just before the Daytona 500, Bowyer's new #33 Cheerios Chevy gained the owner points of the defunct #01 DEI car and was guaranteed a spot in the first five races of the season. So far, once again Bowyer has defied critics. Many saw him not making the Chase this season given his new team but after five races, he sits third in points (behind Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch) with two top 5s and three top 10s in those five races.
2005
Clint Bowyer qualified and raced in only one race in 2005, the spring race at Phoenix. There he finished as the first car one lap down in 22nd. For that race he drove the #33 car, a number he would return to in 2009 after three years in the #07.
2006-2007
His rookie year in the Cup Series brought the typical ups and downs of a rookie. He finished second in the rookie of the year standings, behind Denny Hamlin, and 17th in the points standings, racing into four top 5s and 11 top 10s.
Bowyer started the 2007 in the highlight reels. With Kevin Harvick squeaking by Mark Martin for the Daytona 500 win with a massive wreck behind him, Bowyer crossed the finish line upside, getting pinballed around, and on fire before his car flipped back onto his wheels. A hardcore finish for the friggin Jack Daniel's Chevrolet. At Darlington, he won his first career pole and then made the Chase for the first time, along with teammates Harvick and Jeff Burton. Many people questioned Bowyer's place in the Chase as he had yet to prove himself and had not won a single race in his Cup career. He silenced the critics in the first race of the Chase at New Hampshire. He not only won the pole but dominated the race, leading 222 of the 300 laps to win his first career Cup Series race. He then became the dark horse for the championship, chasing Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, and finished a surprising third in the final points standings, with five top 5s and 17 top 10s
The paint scheme = pure awesome. A simple black scheme with Jack across the hood. It was simply badass. I also love how Jack Daniel's incorporated their No. 7 into the car's number (#7 was already being used by Robby Gordon so RCR had to use #07).
2008
The following year saw Bowyer as a Chase favorite but he struggled to make the Chase at the end, narrowly making the Chase ahead of a surprising David Ragan. This time around, Bowyer got his win out of the way early (and in light of the new Chase format where bonus points are awarded for race wins) with his win at Richmond, which was him simply being at the right place at the right time. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch were racing hard for the win and Busch wrecked Junior, allowing Bowyer to zoom past before the caution came out. In the Chase, he finished in the top 10 every other race and finished worst than 12th only once. But he was no match for the torrid pace set by Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle and this time Bowyer finished with seven top 5s, 17 top 10s, and fifth in the final standings.
The only change from 2006-2007 to this year is the use of the new car full-time.
2009
For 2009, Bowyer was placed into an entirely new team with RCR. Casey Mears had left Hendrick Motorsports after driving the #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet and the sponsor, General Mills, for the new RCR car had a problem with a driver being in its car after previously being sponsored by a competitor. So Bowyer was separated from the team he had been with for the past three years and placed in an entirely new team with no owner points while Mears was placed in the #07. At the last minute, just before the Daytona 500, Bowyer's new #33 Cheerios Chevy gained the owner points of the defunct #01 DEI car and was guaranteed a spot in the first five races of the season. So far, once again Bowyer has defied critics. Many saw him not making the Chase this season given his new team but after five races, he sits third in points (behind Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch) with two top 5s and three top 10s in those five races.
Notable Special Schemes
2006 The SopranosRan at the Las Vegas race to promote The Sopranos' 6th season premiere.
2006 Country CocktailsJack Daniel's promoting one of their lines of drinks at the Coca-Cola 600.
2006 Happy BirthdayJack Daniel's celebrated its birthday with this scheme at Bristol.
2006 TexasA neat Texas-themed scheme that ran at, obviously, Texas.
2007 DirecTV Hot PassA scheme to promote DirecTV's NASCAR-related packaging, at Atlanta.
2008 BB&TA personal sponsor, one of the races he ran this scheme was for his win at Richmond.
2008 DirecTVDirecTV had been a sponsor for Bowyer since 2006 but stayed with the #07 when Bowyer went to the #33.
2009 BB&TSame scheme, different number.
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