Bowyer Penalized 150 Points and a Championship Opportunity

Whatever line in the sand the no. 33 team almost crossed at Richmond was apparently crossed Sunday at New Hampshire as NASCAR took the stick to Clint Bowyer’s championship hopes on Tuesday.
Bowyer was fined 150 Chase points and crew chief Shane Wilson was suspended for the next six Sprint Cup events. Car owner Richard Childress also loses 50 owner points.
The story developed on Tuesday morning after NASCAR called Bowyer’s team to a meeting to discuss template deviations from the Richmond car. The sanctioning body typically will try to work with teams who get too close to infractions. Tuesday’s meeting was prior to, and unrelated to the New Hampshire car.
NASCAR was forced to take action when Bowyer’s winning New Hampshire ride was found to have failed a secondary inspection at NASCAR’s Research and Development center in Concord.
“We reinforced the fact that they had come exceedingly close to the measurements that we allow for post-race inspection,” Robin Pemberton NASCAR vice president of competition said. “The #33 car that was raced in New Hampshire was brought back to the R&D center after the race and that car did not meet specifications and as a result these penalties have been issued.”
What does that mean for the driver of the no. 33 car? Find out after the jump.

The penalty all but ends Bowyer’s title hopes.
After the decision was levied, Bowyer anchored from second in the standings to 12th, 185 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.
Judging from the last two weeks, Bowyer’s team had to ‘cheat’ their way into the Chase field at Richmond and then had to ‘cheat’ again to win at NHIS. Without ‘cheating’ and left without Wilson for the next six races, the 12th best Chaser is virtually eliminated.
Much like Jimmie Johnson, a driver with a 14.7 average finish, Bowyer is not allowed a mulligan. Clint struggled with consistency all season before hitting his stride with Wilson’s alleged mods. Bowyer is very limited entering the next race at Dover and would need his competitors to struggle to even have an outside shot.
If Bowyer is to regain any momentum, it will have to be captured using the same fortitude that landed him in the Chase to begin with. Short of that, he’s done.

Follow Matt on Twitter @MattWeaverVG