CONCORD, N.C. — Clint Bowyer may be flying below the radar as a Chase contender, but he’s happy that Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. has his new deal squared away.
“Having Truex back as a teammate was something that I was very, very adamant about and supportive of,” Bowyer told the NASCAR Wire Service on Wednesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “I’m looking forward to where he’s announcing that.
“It’s something that I’m looking forward to keeping for a long, long time. We raced a lot together back in the Nationwide days (both are former series champions), had a lot of respect for each other. We just push each other pretty good and work together well.”
It’s a poorly kept secret that MWR and Truex will announce a contract extension Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Truex’s sponsor, NAPA Auto Parts, also has renewed, solidifying the driver and sponsor lineup for an organization that, barring an unforeseen catastrophe, will be represented in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the first time since the company debuted in 2007.
Both Truex (fifth in the standings) and Bowyer (sixth) are likely to clinch Chase berths Sunday at Atlanta.
Bowyer was at CMS to help promote the stunt scheduled as part of the festivities before the Oct. 13 Bank of America 500, the fifth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Daredevil Nik Wallenda, who in June became the first person to walk across Niagara Falls on a high wire, will bring his talents to the speedway.
Wallenda will walk a wire 750 feet from the top of the frontstretch grandstand — a height of 100 feet — to a crane located near Victory Lane at the 1.5-mile track. Bowyer, who successfully negotiated a 5/8-inch cable 18 inches off the ground on Wednesday, was duly impressed.
“Man, it’s a little nerve-wracking to get up there (at the top of the grandstand) and look over the edge and just look down,” he said. “Let alone, can you imagine standing on a five-eighths cable in the middle of a hundred thousand people, just waiting for you to make a mistake and have a bobble? I couldn’t imagine the pressure. . . .”
That from a driver who routinely exceeds 200 mph on the track and who soon will have to deal with the pressure of competing for a Cup championship.
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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