NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GOBOWLING 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
MAY 5, 2016
CLINT BOWYER, NO. 15 5-HOUR ENERGY CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Kansas Speedway and discussed the progress of his Harry Scott team thus far 2016, his expectations for this weekend’s Go Bowling 400, competing in the Truck Series and Xfinity Series and many other topics. Full Transcript:
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS COMING INTO THIS RACE WEEKEND AT KANSAS BOTH IN THE NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES AND THE SPRINT CUP SERIES?
“It’s always fun to have something new on your plate and something I haven’t done in a while. I’m looking forward to running the Truck race here at home in Kansas. I think we had a pretty good run last time we were here in it back in the old Harvick (Kevin Harvick Inc.) days. This GMS Racing, what a team, I was up there at the shop fitting the seat in the Truck and looking at the facility and met Spencer (Gallagher) and Joey (Cohen) the crew chief. Very impressed, built me a brand new truck. That thing is awesome. The work is there and hopefully, the driver filling the seat can get the job done and we can win this baby. That is what we are here for. From there it’s the Cup race on Sunday and I tell you, I just tweeted, I was thinking ‘damn I’m going to need a lot of 5-Hour Energy this weekend’. It’s the Truck Series, the Cup Series and then my brother just enlightened me on how many people bought new vehicles down at Clint Bowyer Autoplex and get a free ride along on Sunday. So, Mom is going to have to hang with us at the track for about seven hours of work he said.”
HOW MANY PEOPLE BOUGHT NEW VEHICLES?
“I think 40 some. That is awesome. It’s very awesome actually for business, it sucks for me personally, that is a lot of ride-alongs. I’m going to need a masseuse afterward.”
YOU ARE THE ONLY CUP REGULAR GOING TO BE IN THE TRUCK SERIES RACE THIS WEEKEND. THEY HAVE A CHASE NOW FOR THE TRUCK SERIES. WHAT ADVICE DO YOU GIVE TO THE TRUCK SERIES REGULARS AND IS THIS GOOD FOR THEIR SERIES?
“I just think it’s good for the sport in general, no matter what division it is. I think the Chase has brought a lot to the table over the years in the Cup Series. I’ve been following it in the Xfinity Series and this Truck Series is going to be fun it’s a great platform. You can win and you can also do a good job, take care of points, take care of your equipment and not make mistakes. At the end of the day take care of business and race your way into that Chase and race for a championship. There is a lot of different ways. Ultimately, fast Trucks, fast drivers, fast teams will be in that Chase anyway. It’s really never came down to a bogus deal yet. A fuel mileage win or a rainout or something like that. I think it’s great for the Truck Series and looking forward to watching that Chase until the last part of the year.”
INAUDIBLE:
“I don’t think they get lost by any stretch of the imagination, I just think the Cup Series had that to benefit from and they didn’t. I believe that now that they have that I think it’s just going to be that much more competitive and more compelling to watch.”
YOU TEND TO SHOW YOUR EMOTIONS FAIRLY LIBERALLY DURING RACES. HAVE YOU HAD TO MEND FENCES WITH YOUR CREW VERY MUCH? ESPECIALLY IN THE SENSE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS YOU ARE ONLY THERE FOR ONE YEAR?
“I think everybody knows me. Whether I’m frustrated or happy or whatever that ventilation whether it’s a celebratory ventilation or a pissed off moment happens the wick is pretty short it burns out about five minutes and the next thing out of my mouth is ‘alright now what are we going to do to fix it.’ I don’t ever care about yesterday or what happened in a practice or a race or even yesterday. This sport is all about what you are going to do tomorrow. That is what you have to instill in yourself and everybody around you to be able to go out there and get the job done and compete at the level that I know we are capable of competing at for our sponsors and for ourselves.”
ARE YOU SATISFIED IN THE DIRECTION YOU GUYS ARE GOING? ARE YOU SEEING SOME IMPROVEMENT EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE NOT HAPPY IN THE CAR SOMETIMES? ARE YOU GETTING TO THAT POINT WHERE EVERYTHING IS GELLING?
“Well, I think two of the last three weekends have been top 10’s. I was struggling to get that kind of consistency where I was last year. It is beginning to start rolling. It’s important to work hard to continue to improve. We’ve got some good things coming that I’m excited about. That is the thing… when you are down, most of the time there is a reason, especially, when you are down as far as we are down. We had work to do we are starting to get some new wave of cars built and get some things to where we all are satisfied with them and excited about bringing them to the racetrack and seeing what our hard work has done. That is all you can do. That is all you can ask for out of any team member, any organization or a driver. Everybody has got to be able to pull on the rope in the same direction and give it their all. When you finally get to that moment where you do that, you are satisfied.”
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THING YOU HAVE LEARNED THROUGH THE FIRST 10 RACES?
“Nothing (laughs). I’ve been doing this for 10 years. There is nothing that surprises you in this sport. It’s the same ole song and dance. When you are running good it’s easy. When you are running bad it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life. I don’t care what organization you are at or how much depth you have or anything else. It is that simple. I’ve been with the biggest teams there is and have obviously been with a younger team and a smaller team. This is hard. This is a hard business and is very competitive and if you are good you better work hard to stay good or you are not going to be there long. If you are bad, you’ve got to work hard to get caught up.”
INAUDIBLE:
“I think, like I said, look at the last three weekends, expectations are … we’ve got to stay on that path. That is the path that I expect to be on and I feel like you guys expect me to be on.”
WHAT IS IT LIKE COMING BACK TO THIS TRACK? WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND?
“It’s different every time. It’s always busy. It’s always home. There is family and friends, people calling, wanting to see you, you want to see them, you need to make time for them. Running this Truck race is something I’ve been looking forward to. I’ve wanted to shake things up. Everybody knows I’m a racer. I’ve always been willing and ready and excited for a challenge in any kind of race car through the years. The Truck Series has always been a lot of fun for me. The vehicles are a blast to drive. I just found out that we announced the JR Motorsports deal, the Xfinity race in Chicago coming up. Hell, there is a lot of good news. That is what keeps you pumped up and excited about the remainder of the year. Just found out that they are taking an off weekend from us. That doesn’t make you very excited, but coming back home, to answer your question it’s always special. It’s a little different with a 19 months old. He woke up at 5 o’clock this morning, so we got up, got the stroller out from underneath the bus and walked over waited on Nebraska Furniture Mart and looked around and then walked over to the mall and bought a couple of pj’s for him and a couple of shirts. May have stopped backed by Arthur Bryant’s on the way back over here and got in some good BBQ. It’s what home is all about.”
INAUDIBLE:
“I’m not hungry right now, but as soon as this Arthur Bryant’s burns through me I’m going to be back focused on that Cup win. I can’t wait to get that done. There is just some race tracks and it’s always home for anybody that every thought you have of your career it’s always that track that you want to win at before it’s all said and done and this is it.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP WINDOW IS CLOSING? ARE YOU KIND OF LOOKING TOWARD NEXT YEAR AND STILL THINK YOU’VE GOT SOME GOOD YEARS IN YOU?
“No, we were with one of the best teams there was for seven years, was with a really good team for a few years and he decided to quit on me. We are building back up. I know I’m going to a championship caliber team for three years after this one. You will see me back. By no means do I consider myself… I feel like you get the race cars underneath of you and you compete exactly where you have always competed. The history is there. Consistency has always been part of my racing and that lends itself to racing for championships and being competitive at the end of the year. We’ve got to get to where you can compete for those championships no matter what organization you are at. You are a big part of that, whether it’s in the race car or not.”
HOW WILL YOU AND YOUR MOM SPEND MOTHER’S DAY? WHAT INFLUENCE HAS SHE HAD IN YOUR RACING CAREER?
“Well, hopefully, she can bring her sweating son another water bottle every now and then. Our lives have been racing since we were old enough to remember we were racing as a family in a motorhome traveling all across the country racing motorcycles. Myself, my two brothers, they ran the towing business together and she made sure that the bills were paid, food was in the pantry and clothes were clean. She was there to do whatever job she needed to do. That is what all good Mom’s do. Take care of business.
“I’m afraid we are going to be working (on Mother’s Day) Mom. It’s a special day. It’s kind of changed over the years. There has always been, heck, a few years we were down in Darlington and it was a lot of fun down there. It’s just a special day. I think we are going to be staying in Emporia (Kansas) and doing some media stuff on Monday, so we will be able to celebrate a little bit Sunday night.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM IS MOST PROUD OF?
“Grandbabies. If you see here with the grandkids she spends most of the time in North Carolina anymore because she won’t turn loose of them. No, she is proud of all of her boys, when you think of her you think of your brothers because she is the one that took care of us all. I was just watching my brother, Casey; we were in a business meeting this week together. Andy I was watching do the last elephant show. He was the broadcaster on the last elephant show of all things in the world. It’s just weird to think of a small family that came from a small town in Kansas and all the different things we’ve been able to do and most of that is because of this sport of auto racing.”
THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN A TRUCK YOU WON…
“That is not true. I actually filled in for John Wes Townley in Pocono…”
LAST TIME YOU WERE IN A TRUCK AT KANSAS YOU WON:
“That is true.”
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO PUT THIS DEAL TOGETHER WITH GMS AND ALSO FOR THE XFINITY SERIES WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE GOING TO DRIVE FOR JR MOTORSPORTS?
“It was a phone call and about two-tenths of a delayed reaction of a yes. It doesn’t take long to put those deals together. They called and asked and obviously you’ve got to ask Harry Scott if it’s okay and as soon as that was all said and done, heck yeah I would love to run this thing. I told them if that seat is empty and you need a driver I will be your guy the rest of the year, however much you need. I like racing. I miss racing in the Xfinity Series full-time or racing in Trucks here and there. It’s fun. These weekends for whatever reason and in my opinion some of it is tech procedures and things like that are slow, they just feel slow for us. If I was racing in the Truck Series or the Xfinity Series or something like that I think it would help keep somebody that likes action and likes being on the go a little more occupied.”
WHERE WOULD YOU WANT TO BE IN POINTS AT THE END OF THE YEAR THAT WOULD MAKE YOU SAY ‘OKAY THIS WAS A DECENT YEAR’?
“I felt like being able to compete in and around that top 15 to top 20 range consistently is going to put Harry (Scott) in a position that he can be appealing to sponsors, to drivers and things like that. It’s pretty hard to set goals to winning races and things like that because, let’s face it; you’ve got to crawl before you can walk in life. I feel like he realizes that. You’ve got to create some goals to where you can get to where you want to be. That isn’t just a year’s time no matter what the situation is. A lot of time if it is, it’s hard to maintain that and keep that when you see teams come in and spend gobs of money and have the success they can’t hold on to it. His approach to all this of easing into it and earning his way is the right way. We’ve got work to do to get it to where I feel like it needs to be by the end of the year.”
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