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Clint Bowyer ‘knocking on the door’ of a win as he returns to home track

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 - Practice

TALLADEGA, AL - MAY 05: Clint Bowyer, driver of the #14 Haas Automation Demo Days Ford, sits in his car during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 5, 2017 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

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Clint Bowyer is adamant he “never” thinks about how long it’s been since he won a NASCAR Cup race.

Even if that’s the case, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver has clearly pondered what he’ll do if his 159-race winless streak ends tonight at his home track in the Go Bowling 400.

“We would have a large time. I know the hot spots around here,” Bowyer said Friday at Kansas Speedway. “I think probably everybody would have an open invite. I have a sponsor with a hell of a product, a teammate with a hell of a product sponsor, so St. Louis isn’t very far away either. We will be fine.”

Through 10 races this season, Bowyer is more than fine compared to where he was at this point last season.

During his one season with HScott Motorsports, Bowyer was coming off his second top-10 finish of the year. He would only earn one more.

Now, the No. 14 team is ninth in the standings, the best out of SHR’s four teams. Bowyer has two top fives and four top 10s. In addition to finishing second at Bristol, Bowyer has finished every race on the lead lap since a DNF in the Daytona 500.

“Last year sucked,” Bowyer said. “It wasn’t fun for anybody, especially me. The good news is the bus picked us up and we jumped on the fun bus clear back in Daytona. I don’t know how you missed it. It is a big ass bus. ... When I walked out of one building and got into the other one it was a fun time, trust me. It was overnight. I woke up one morning as a Stewart-Haas employee. That was a good time.”

Entering the Go Bowling 400, Bowyer has an average finish of 11.8 on the season.

“We are knocking on the door,” Bowyer said. “We aren’t knocking enough, but last week we led some laps and showed potential again. It takes the total package. You have to put it together. It all starts with consistency, running up front on a consistent manner week in and week out. We have a good baseline established and that is with no notes or nothing to work with. No experience with one another. No communication.”

Bowyer’s average finish at Kansas in 17 starts is 17.2. Though he has five top 10s, his last one came in 2013 when he finished fifth in this race.

“It is a clean slate every time I go to the track with (crew chief) Mike (Bugarewicz) and the guys on the 14 car,” Bowyer said. “There is no reason to think it won’t be better this week. I know Mike was excited about the car and he knows that this is an important one for me. He knows that I need to run better on these types of race tracks.”

Even though it’s still relatively early, Bowyer has all the confidence he’ll be one of the 16 drivers in the playoffs come September. Part of the confidence comes from Bowyer having led 10 laps last week at Talladega, his first of the season.

“You have to lead laps to win these races,” Bowyer said. “You can’t just be an eighth-place car. You have to get up and lead laps and we need to get a couple of stage wins. We have to have that going into the playoffs. Do I think we are going to make the playoffs? Yes. I am not saying that arrogantly or to be cocky, I just feel like we are a team that is going to be in that one way shape or form. Whether we race our way in or win our way in.”

There’s that word again - win.

What kind of trouble would the Emporia, Kansas, native get in if he won on his home turf?

The kind that might make Mother’s Day a little awkward.

“She wouldn’t be proud of me,” Bowyer said with a laugh. “If that was to happen, I probably wouldn’t be in very good shape for Mother’s Day. We would probably have to postpone that to Monday. It would be huge to win at home and to finally seal the deal after all this time. It would be ultra-special.”

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