NASCAR Bristol preview: Clint Bowyer focused on Chase, not Michael Waltrip Racing’s demise

Sitting precariously on the bubble to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup with three regular season races remaining, Clint Bowyer’s attention should be solely on earning a spot in NASCAR’s playoffs.

Only if it were that easy, though. Bowyer’s singular focus and that of Michael Waltrip Racing was interrupted when the team publicized Wednesday it would cease operations at the conclusion of the season.

Conventional wisdom says the impending demise of the two-car team co-owned by Rob Kauffman and Michael Waltrip would present a distraction, but Bowyer disagrees. Although most everyone at MWR is staring at uncertain futures, Bowyer is confident in the resolve of those on his No. 15 team.

“These guys are all racers at heart,” Bowyer said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. “After our announcement Wednesday, my guys, in particular these road guys that are on the road with me every week, all of them said, ‘Listen, we have a job to do, you get your damn head straight and let’s go after this championship and end this on a bang.’

“That’s the fire, the desire and the passion that racers have and you can’t take that from any of us. Very proud of my team and the people that were organized around me from day one at MWR and it hasn’t changed today. We’re going to do just that.”

MWR’s downfall is due to what Kauffman says are unsustainable costs of operating a Sprint Cup Series team that regularly struggles competitively. Instead of being the majority owner of MWR, Kauffman is divesting himself and purchasing a stake in Chip Ganassi Racing, where his day-to-day involvement won’t be required.

Wanting to give his employees enough time to secure other opportunities is why Kauffman made the mid-week announcement; a decision Bowyer supported even if it meant an unwanted diversion during a critical juncture of the season.

“Rob and I both agree that we owed it to these people to tell them as soon as possible,” Bowyer said. “It’s important. There’s a lot of lives at stake, a lot of families and I thought we owed it to them.”

The timing comes as Bowyer clings to the 16th and final Chase position, maintaining a 24-point lead over Aric Almirola. An advantage that can quickly be erased with two short-track races -- including Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race -- and the demanding Southern 500 rounding out the regular season schedule.

Bowyer saw his points cushion decrease by 27 when he crashed last week at Michigan International Speedway. And if a driver outside the Chase cutline breaks through in the next three races it would come at Bowyer’s expense -- he trails Jeff Gordon for the 15th playoff spot by 32 points.

Following the Michigan accident, Bowyer emphatically stated he stills controls his playoff destiny. If he performs, he’ll likely qualify. If he doesn’t, well then, he won’t.

While that remains the case, the circumstances have changed greatly from where they stood a week ago. No longer is MWR’s collective attention just on the Chase, but now on matters that extend beyond winning and losing.

“There are two ways to look at it,” Almirola said. “One is, yeah, they may be vulnerable and guys are kind of distracted and they’re scrambling looking for jobs, but the other way to look at that is they don’t have anything to lose, so they can push all the gray areas as hard as they can and be really aggressive and what’s the worst that’s going to happen? They’re not going to lose their jobs because they’re already looking for work.

“They’re not gonna give up; they’re gonna fight hard; they’re gonna try and make the Chase. It’s about pride. Everybody in this garage area has egos and we all want to beat our competitors and I doubt any of those guys, Clint included, are going to lay down.”