Any open-ended conversation with Clint Bowyer will get derailed early and often.
That’s the case this week as the Stewart-Haas Racing driver dropped by for a visit to the “Dale Jr. Download” (airs today at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
For 87 minutes Bowyer holds court with Earnhardt as they share off-the-track stories, including from their partying days.
Bowyer tells a story about one particular party at Earnhardt’s house, which ended with Bowyer waking up in a theater the next morning and unable to leave the house.
“I run out of people to talk to and (Earnhardt) disappeared. You can’t disappear at most people’s houses,” Bowyer said. “When I say disappear, I mean this man is just gone. And I am stuck in this basement, looking around. I don’t have a ride, I rode over there with (Kasey) Kahne. Kahne has disappeared. This house is like Neverland. ... This is not like a normal establishment. This is not like being at our house, right? This is being trapped and when I mean trapped, the doors no longer open.”
Bowyer also wasn’t helped by the fact his phone was dead.
“I’m out knocking on the upstairs door, that’s not normal,” Bowyer said. “People don’t have a door to block off the house. It’s like Fort Knox locked me in. So I’m in jail. There’s these big, massive windows in the back that’s really, really cool that open up onto this beautiful pool that you can’t get into because you’re locked in his house.
“Finally, thank God, for the love of God, a landscaper comes walking by and I’m beating on the door, like ‘Hey! Hey!’ on the window. He’s looking at me, ‘What?’ He comes over and opens the door and I’ve been released like I escaped jail.”
Other stories topics Bowyer discusses:
- Putting Jeff Gordon in a headlock at a yacht party.
- The generation gap between him and younger drivers when it comes to partying and hanging out.
- How miserable his 2016 season was before he joined Stewart-Haas Racing
- Why he owns a dirt late model team
- The trial and tribulations of coaching his son’s t-ball team, the “Dirt Bags.”
This is a product of getting together amongst friends, telling old stories, and then the next thing you know they say.....well thanks for coming in, that was a lot of fun. https://t.co/T8td3QvYmQ
— Clint Bowyer (@ClintBowyer) April 16, 2019