Clint Bowyer may skip Mother’s Day to party if he wins at Kansas

Clint Bowyer hasn’t won a Monster Energy Cup Series race since Oct. 2012, a span of 159 races. He’s also 0-for-17 in his career at Kansas Speedway, the home track for the Emporia, Kan., native.

Combine these factors and it’s understandable why Bowyer would have quite the celebration if he were to win Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 at Kansas (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1), about 100 miles from his hometown.

“If that was to happen, I probably wouldn’t be in very good shape for Mother’s Day. We would probably have to postpone that to Monday,” Bowyer said Friday. “It would be huge to win at home and finally seal the deal after all this time. It would be ultra-special.

“All my family and friends and people that helped me get to where I am today all live here in the area and it would be cool to celebrate that with them. … I think probably everybody would have an open invite.”

Only Paul Menard’s 206 consecutive starts without a win exceeds Bowyer’s current stretch of futility. The 36-year-old won three times and finished runner-up in the championship to Brad Keselowski in 2012, but since then his once-promising career has tapered off.

After four years together, Bowyer’s former team, Michael Waltrip Racing, unexpectedly closed down following the 2015 season. He signed with HScott Motorsports in 2016, but the small team lacked the resources Bowyer was accustomed to and success proved fleeting while the frustration mounted.

“Yeah, last year sucked,” Bowyer said. “It wasn’t fun.”

Bowyer joined the powerhouse Stewart-Haas Racing to replace the retiring Tony Stewart this season, and he’s seemingly resurrected his career. He has four top-10 finishes with an 11.8 average finish through 10 races, and sits ninth in points. As the Cup Series begins its summer stretch with 15 straight events, Bowyer is well positioned to earn a playoff berth for the first time since 2015.

Still, Bowyer wants to win and that return trip to victory lane hasn’t yet happened. What’s reassuring is that unlike the past few seasons, he’s now with a team in SHR that can provide him with winning equipment.

“The biggest thing is you are lined back up with an organization that is capable of doing that. That is item No. 1,” Bowyer said. “Each and every week you go to the race track knowing you have a chance to win the race. All the past that has happened is the furthest thing from my mind because you are back to sitting in equipment capable of winning these races and competing at the highest level.”