Bowyer has another goal as title hopes all but gone

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Will Clint Bowyer suffer a letdown now that his championship chances appear to be over? Not if he can help it.

Trailing Jimmie Johnson by 181 points and Jeff Gordon by 151, Bowyer realizes a Nextel Cup championship this season will most likely wind up just out of reach, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have other goals to achieve.

"We've got to try and win these last two races and hope for a mistake on their part," Bowyer said Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. "That's all we can do. It's been a really successful year, a fun year and I want to win again. It was my goal to win at least two races this year and I'm a little bit shy of that."

A loose wheel during last weekend's race at Texas forced Bowyer to pit twice under green, leaving him with a 19th-place finish and effectively ending an unlikely run at the title that was ignited by Bowyer's victory at New Hampshire to kick off the Chase.

"I think our season was solid, week-in and week-out but I think that really did change and turn for the better when we got our first win," Bowyer said. "That was the confidence booster we needed that propelled us to the next level.

"We've definitely had things go our way during the Chase. There's no denying that. But I'm a firm believer in making your own luck."

Bowyer was eighth-fastest in Friday's practice, running a best lap of 131.062 mph over the flat desert mile. Jamie McMurray posted the fastest lap of the session at 131.728.

Bowyer said it's not easy to accept the fact that the championship dream appears to be over for this season. But, as Bowyer noted, nothing in racing comes easy.

"It's an emotional sport, auto racing is, no matter what level it is," he said. "It can show you the highest of highs and lowest of lows right off the bat. That's racing. When it's your day, it's you day. And when it's not, it's not. And there isn't a darn thing you can do about it."

Still, Bowyer and the No. 07 Chevrolet crew can take solace in the fact that they ran neck-and-neck under enormous pressure with the two best teams in the business for eight consecutive weeks. And that's something that many other contenders were unable to do down the stretch.

Under the old points, Bowyer would be seventh, six points behind Matt Kenseth.

"We've run down and gained a lot of ground on teams," Bowyer said. "I think we're where we deserve to be and obviously the way the hauler's parked [third beside Johnson and Gordon], that proves it."

So what will it take to be as good as the two Hendrick teams?

"Just a little bit of everything," Bowyer said. "It's not one thing we can improve on in particular and say we're going to win ... That's just not going to happen.

"You've got to do the little things and get better. Everybody's got to pick up their game."