In the same week Clint Bowyer experienced one life changing event, he returns to Richmond International Raceway, the site of perhaps the most polarizing moment of his career.
NASCAR Richmond 2014: Clint Bowyer: Richmond scandal a ‘bad deal’
As Bowyer returns to the scene of his notorious transgression, he yearns to move past the events of last fall that resulted in record sanctions for Michael Waltrip Racing.
Rainier Ehrhardt
It was last September where Bowyer played a prominent role in the biggest scandal in NASCAR history. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver spun suspiciously in the final laps to prevent Ryan Newman from winning, which would have kept teammate Martin Truex Jr. out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
"I'm looking forward to having another good run here and shaking that (controversy) off from last year. It was a bad deal and I get it.-Clint Bowyer
The reaction was swift and the penalties crippling.
NASCAR booted Truex out of the Chase and inserted Newman (and later Jeff Gordon), in addition to issuing MWR a record $300,000 fine. And most damaging, NAPA terminated its longtime sponsorship, which essentially forced the organization to disband one of its three full-time teams.
It’s an incident Bowyer, who got married last weekend in the Bahamas, would love to put behind him though he’s never admitted guilt.
”I’m looking forward to having another good run here and shaking that (controversy) off from last year, “said Bowyer Friday, who has two Richmond victories to his credit. “It was a bad deal and I get it. But this is one of my favorite race tracks.”
Before the events of last fall, Bowyer was well-liked by fans because of his blue-collar background and affable personality. Not surprisingly, however, his reputation took a severe hit, and the man once cheered during driver introductions now regularly receives boos.
“The fan base, Twitter and things like that -- I took a beating for a while,” Bowyer said. “But we weathered that storm, it’s behind us and it’s a lot of fun to interact with those fans whether it’s good or bad. It’s all positive interaction as far as I’m concerned because they are talking about our sport.”
NASCAR enacted various rules to prevent further manipulation of the finishing order.
The changes include a mandate that competitors must give 100 percent at all times, as well as restructuring how a driver qualifies for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Racing for points has been deemphasized with wins now paramount to earning a playoff berth.
According to Kevin Harvick, most everyone in NASCAR has “moved on,” though the fallout and NASCAR’s subsequent reaction certainly made the garage take notice.
“I think you would be silly to not pay attention to what had happened and understand the reality of situations of what could be lost by handling something wrong,” Harvick said. “It’s kind of a wake-up call to everybody to understand that there is a lot of money and a lot of people watching.
“The perception of your actions sometimes can be taken to the extreme and the repercussions of that can be very extreme as well. I think everybody has to keep that in mind.”
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