DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. –While all the talk was of a new season and new cars Thursday at Daytona during the first day of preseason testing, Clint Bowyer was forced to relive what may not have been his proudest moment of last season; his feud with four time champion Jeff Gordon.
Gordon and Bowyer’s crews got into a brawl at the fall Phoenix race after Gordon wrecked Bowyers car. Gordon said afterwards he was fed up with Bowyer crashing into him during races and messing him up.
Thursday Bowyer was asked about a rumor on Twitter that both he and Gordon were on P. Diddy’s boat on New Years in St. Barts. Bowyer confirmed the rumor, saying he didn’t know how they both ended up there.
“It was the damdest boat you’ve ever seen in your life,” Bowyer said smiling. “I’m from Kansas. We don’t have big boats in Kansas. We don’t have very big bodies of water. So, I think he was on that same boat.”
When pressured for details, and asked if there was yet another confrontation Bowyer simply joked.
“Yes, we held hands and walked on the boat, discussed the past year and enjoyed ourselves throughout the whole vacation,” he quipped.
Later Gordon confirmed that he was on the island with Bowyer, but said the two never met up.
“My family and I have been going down to St. Barts for the last four of five years and we love going down there for New Year’s,” he said. I knew that Clint (Bowyer) and Kevin (Harvick) were down there because Rick Hendrick’s boat was down there and I think they were on that boat through a charter with some friends of theirs. I stopped by there to say hi one time and they were gone, they were out having fun or doing something. Then I went about my business.”
Gordon joked that the vacation was less about his rival and more about just having a good time with his family and other celebrities.
“Ingrid and I went to a couple different parties and ended up at one, which was really the party of the year if you ask me,” Gordon said. “It was an amazing event that P. Diddy had. We were just hanging out having a good time and on walks Bowyer and Harvick and a couple other folks. I don’t know, it was a great New Year’s. I enjoyed myself very much.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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