Clint Bowyer admitted he let his emotions get the best of him when, after climbing out of his car, he berated crew chief Mike Bugarewicz and other members of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team following a crash last week at Talladega Superspeedway.
Clint Bowyer explains meltdown on crew chief at Talladega
An unhappy and frustrated Clint Bowyer berated his crew chief immediately after crashing out of last week’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
“It’s just a frustrating race,” Bowyer said. “It’s extremely nerve-racking. To be dead honest with you, when I’m at home, there’s only two tracks that I’m scared of. There’s only two tracks that in the back of my mind where I think I could lose my life. Those are the only two. When things get out of control, you’ve got to remember that. We’re still out there risking our lives. There’s a lot at stake.”
Bowyer was a contender to win the Alabama 500 before being collected in a six-car accident 32 laps from the finish. The No. 14 Ford suffered considerable frontend damage, though Bowyer was able to drive the car to the pits with Bugarewicz telling his driver the team would attempt to make repairs.
But Bowyer angrily overruled his crew chief, saying the damage couldn’t be fixed. He then got out of the car and confronted Bugarewicz before walking back to the garage. Bowyer finished 35th in a race he thought Ford-powered drivers held the advantage.
Brad Keselowski drove his Team Penske Ford to the victory, giving the manufacturer its seventh consecutive restrictor-plate win.
“There’s a point in those races where you have to be in position, in the hunt,” Bowyer said. “The one common denominator is I knew and I felt strongly that a Ford was going to win that race. In back of my mind, there’s a handful of tracks that I feel we can competitive win at and beat these Toyotas right now. That was one of them.”
As the replacement for the retired Tony Stewart, Bowyer has had an up-and-down first season with SHR. Although he’s had several good finishes, the 38-year-old driver has also not won a race and failed to qualify for the Cup Series playoffs. He saw Talladega as a prime opportunity to snap a winless streak that extends to Oct. 2012.
Bowyer will return to SHR next season, however when asked Friday if he wanted to continue working with Bugarewicz he was noncommittal. SHR also fields cars for Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick, and could elect to swap team personnel over the offseason.
“It’s not time to start thinking about that,” Bowyer said. “At the end of the day, it’s about depth in our organization and building and organization. Who knows. There could be a lot of different things that happen in the off-season for Stewart-Haas. Time will tell and paint a lot clearer picture.”
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