How Times (And People) Change
10/28/2014
J. L. Steele
I liked Clint Bowyer. That will come as a surprise to anyone
who follows my twitter account where I now keep a running total of how many
days it's been since he last won a NASCAR race. (It now stands at 744.) This
might come as an even bigger surprise but I want to like him again, seriously. I met Clint at the Nashville Superspeedway in April of 2004.
It was only his second start in the Busch Series and of course he was driving
for Richard Childress at the time. As Childress' new driver, he was getting a
lot of attention that weekend. He'd get even more when he finished in the top
ten and followed it up with a pole at Talladega two weeks later. On that Saturday in Nashville though, even with all the
attention he was getting, Clint was laid back, relaxed and easily approachable.
We stood talking in the grass behind the stage just before driver
introductions. He was genuinely excited about the opportunity he had and he
didn't display the first bit of arrogance or cockiness. He came across as such
a good guy, I didn't think it would be possible for
anyone to root against him. Though winning occasionally with RCR then later with Michael
Waltrip Racing, he never showed the consistency of a championship caliber
driver but you always had the feeling that he might just get there. Regardless,
he's a down to earth type and has shown he's not afraid to display his emotions
when he thinks he's been wronged on the track. Though Clint was never
"my" driver, he wasn't one that I hated to see win. Then came Richmond in 2013. We all know what happened. He spun on the front stretch in
the closing laps of the fall race and brought out the caution; a move which
seemed to solidify his teammate Martin Truex, Jr.'s spot in the Chase. As early
as that night, rumors and rumblings began about whether it was intentional. We
all know the outcome. MWR was fined $300,000 and both Bowyer and Truex were
docked points; an outcome that cost Truex his spot in the Chase. Some look at that night and those events and say it's just
part of racing; a driver helping a teammate. After all, don't all NASCAR teams
and drivers try to gain an advantage? Isn't that just an accepted part of the
sport? Absolutely not, and this is where I start to disagree with his loyal fans. Look at it in baseball terms. In baseball, teams will try to
steal signs from the opposition in the hopes of gaining on the opposition.
Pitchers have been known to scuff balls and batters have corked bats with the
hope of finding an edge. Fans of the sport almost accept that. However, they do
not and would not expect to see teams on the field conspiring together to
affect the outcome of the game being played. It's not even acceptable to have
one team conspiring among players to alter the outcome. Look no further than
the infamous 1919 Chicago "Black" Sox scandal as proof. It's the same
reason sports like basketball take seriously any allegations of "point
shaving." No sport can have its reputation sullied by something as
serious as competitors intentionally trying to manipulate results. Why would
any fan want to spend hard earned money (and a lot of it!) to watch a
competition or contest that may not be what it appears to be? That's too big of
a risk for any sport but especially NASCAR. Baseball, basketball and football
don't have fans travel hundreds of miles to their games like NASCAR fans do. That night in Richmond was obviously not a good night for
the sport, Michael Waltrip Racing or Clint Bowyer. The aftermath is what's
disappointed me the most. America is a forgiving society. Look at the number of
television preachers that have been caught with their pants down (literally!),
confessed and gone on fleecing the masses with their reputations intact. We
reelect politicians who have been caught in any number of shady activities.
They confront it, deal with it and move on. Not Clint and not anyone else in the Waltrip organization
though. Nope, they just want to act like it never happened. Bowyer was
interviewed on pit road by Jamie Little immediately after
that race. She was bold enough to ask if there was anything sinister about his
spin. He denied there was and said his car, "had a tire going down or
something." Whether you're talking about Richard Nixon or Pete Rose, the
cover up is at least as bad as the crime and these guys are continuing to cover
it up. The circuit visited Richmond twice this year and of course both times,
that incident was talked about by the racing media. Clint will neither confirm
nor deny anything though. He only spoke about, "moving forward" and
not, "talking about the past." To this point, he refuses
to be man enough to admit to anything, nor has his car owner. Why? We've all been caught at one time or another doing something
we shouldn't do. As bad as it was, in my eyes, the problem with Bowyer isn't
that he did what he did. It appears he was following orders handed down to him.
My problem with him is that he's never been man enough to 'fess up. I don't even
care if he asks forgiveness; just admit, "Hey, I screwed up. Yeah, it was
a bad move." In refusing to do so, he displays an
arrogance and gives the impression that race fans and media are dumb
enough to act like it never happened. I believe if he did that, even now he'd gain a lot of
respect and might even win back or win over some fans. Until he does though,
tomorrow will be the 745th consecutive day he's not won a NASCAR race.