It’s only been three years since Clint Bowyer retired from racing NASCAR full time.
After spending 15 years in the Cup Series, amassing 10 victories in 541 starts, Bowyer was ready to call it a career after the 2020 season.
“I retired from Cup, lived my dream, loved it. But it was time for somebody else to live it,” Bowyer explained.
His departure from the seat of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang gave Xfinity Series star Chase Briscoe a shot at the Cup Series the following season, while Bowyer moved on to the FOX Sports broadcast booth.
As the Kansas native describes, retirement was bliss — at least for a little while.
“For the first two years, I was over it. I was burnt out. I didn’t want to go to the race track anymore. I loved my new job, broadcasting and selling the sport,” Bowyer said. “But as far as the competitive nature and what it took to be good in the constant grind, I was over it.”
Ultimately, it was a combination of mental exhaustion and a lack of results during his final season that led Bowyer to those fateful crossroads.
“I was tired of putting in that effort and my results were starting to show it, so that’s how I knew it was time,” he added.
But by year three of being out of the cockpit and on the sidelines, an all-too familiar feeling returned.
“All of a sudden it hit me. I was like, there’s the itch,” Bowyer said. “I wanted to compete. I wanted to race something.”
The 44-year-old began scoping out potential rides, anxious to shake off the dust before it was too late. Eventually, Bowyer’s hunt for a place to race brought him to the Superstar Racing Experience.
“I watched the last couple years of this SRX series, and I was like, I dig that,” Bowyer said.
With a 12-car field made up of current and former drivers, sourcing from NASCAR to IndyCar to NHRA, the retired Cup Series driver felt as if he’d fit right in.
The series is also co-owned by Bowyer’s former team owner — Tony Stewart.
However, the unignorable pull that drew Bowyer to SRX came down to three things.
“I like how they’re racing, I like the cars and I like the tracks,” Bowyer said. “Going to tracks in places of the country that I’ve never raced in, that started sparking all that interest back.”
Though the series hosts eight full-time drivers on the six-race tour, Bowyer elected for a part-time schedule.
He finished third in his debut during the season opener at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway on July 13, came in second during the July 27 race at Virginia’s Motor Mile Speedway and is set to appear during the finale at Missouri’s Lucas Oil Speedway on Aug. 17.
“Do the cars drive like a Cadillac? No,” Bowyer said with a laugh. “But I have a blast.”
Other than adapting to the 700-horsepower machines themselves, one of his primary challenges on the race track has been adjusting to driving without a spotter.
“It’s been 20 years since I raced without a spotter in my ears,” Bowyer said. “So getting used to your surroundings and being conscious on your own without having that guy, your eye in the sky, talking to you was very difficult to get a hold of.”
But with two SRX podium finishes behind him, the 2008 Xfinity Series champion doesn’t seem to be having much trouble finding his way. There’s just one challenge left for him to conquer.
“After three years of being out of the car, I was like, ‘Damn, I’m nervous again.’ That was a good feeling to have,” Bowyer concluded.
Watch SPEED SPORT’s post-race interview with Clint Bowyer at Motor Mile Speedway.