Brutally honest, Bowyer busting at seams for win

"Hell Yeah!"

Those were the two most important words I heard during a 10-minute conversation with Clint Bowyer two days after his rock solid performance in the Pepsi 400. I knew at that moment his head was in the right place.

Beau Estes co-hosts the Jack Daniel's Post-Race Show with Nikki Alexander. It can be seen following every Nextel Cup race live on NASCAR.COM.

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The driver of the No. 07 Chevy had just finished telling me how his team "gained confidence" and was "a strong contender again." He even mentioned that the weekend in Daytona was once again "a good team effort." Wake me if you've heard this type of talk before.

I don't doubt that all of what he said is absolutely true, but something in Clint's voice sounded a bit off. To be fair, Bowyer is a relative wiz with the media in just his second year in the Nextel Cup game, but this time the words sounded tired -- like he was reading them from a script he didn't particularly enjoy. Frankly, the guy was just plain frustrated and so I asked him to level with me.

"Honestly, aren't you tired of giving the same 'good team effort' speech over and over again? Aren't you sick of it?" I said.

Cue the real Clint Bowyer.

"Hell yeah, I'm definitely sick of it," he laughed "I'm paid to win races. I know it takes time but I want to win one."

The brutal truth continued to flow majestically.

"Forget getting paid for it," he added. "Selfishly I want to win one for me."

Those last eight words could have been uttered by any great athlete pursuing their dream. They are at the heart of all sports. Moreover, aren't all great athletes supposed to be a bit selfish? (Please feel free to flood my inbox with exceptions.)

I know that NASCAR drivers are perhaps the most media savvy athletes in America these days, but what a pleasure it is to hear an outburst of honesty from one of the sport's elite. To me, these are the moments that develop a driver's personality and give fans on the fence something to latch onto. The truth is, Clint is burning up to turn down Victory Lane.

The race in Daytona over the weekend wasn't the breakthrough performance he was looking for, but after a late caution he thought the Pepsi 400 was his for the taking ... that is until he peeked back to see who was trailing him. "I looked in the rearview and there were four HMS and three Roush cars," he said. "Whatever I did they were going to do the opposite so I knew the cards were stacked up against us."

Perhaps the cards weren't the only thing stacked against Clint and Company. Consider this little numeric mind bender the 07 driver relayed to me.

• The race took place on 07/07/07 (I actually knew that)
• The 07 car was in pit stall No. 7
• Their ignition problems occurred with 77 laps to go
• The final caution ended with seven laps to go

So in the end it's probably no surprise that the 07 finished in seventh -- just don't expect the driver to be in seventh heaven.

Clint did make a little news lately though, with his appearance in Sports Illustrated's mid-season driver's poll. The driver's surveyed voted Clint as the next driver most likely to break through and get his first win.

Also, apparently the others drivers like Bowyer's work off the track as well. Athena Barber, his girlfriend, was voted "Hottest wife/girlfriend" by his fellow drivers.

"One of those pissed me off" he laughed, tongue planted firmly in cheek. "Seriously though, it's important to her. She's a pretty girl and anytime she can get some recognition it's a good thing."

Tip of the cap to you Mr. Bowyer.

Finally, the subject of the Pepsi 400 got us talking about the Daytona 500 and his upside-down, on-fire February finish.

"I knew we were going to wreck," he said. "It's the last lap of the Daytona 500 so everybody was going for broke. For a minute it looked like the seas were going to part. Obviously, it was wild."

But was he scared?

"Honestly, it happened so fast," he said. "I saw parts going over me and then dirt flying up. Thank God it worked out OK."

Just another day at the track for the lucky number 07.

Last Week's Question of the Week

Here is what I learned following last week's QOW:

1. There are still a few solid supporters of Barry Bonds in the world and no matter how many times I put the words "to be fair, Bonds is merely suspected of using steroids" in the piece -- the Barry Brigade wasn't going to be happy.

2. The word "cheaters" is very divisive in NASCAR circles, but if the question is framed correctly NASCAR Nation will provide an honest, non-reactionary answer.

The question again was "Do you think Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. and their teams should be labeled 'cheaters' on the same level as Barry Bonds is?"

First the poll results:
Yes -- 24.5 percent
No -- 75.5 percent

Now onto the best of the responses ...

In my eyes Gordon, Johnson and Earnhardt are NOT cheating. It is not even in the same category as Bonds. However, the Waltrip violation with jet fuel, I feel, is very much in the Bonds category of cheating. NASCAR has rules and gray areas. It is the job of these teams to find the limits of those gray areas, which is what the 24, 48 and 8 (along with the 40 other teams that haven't been caught yet) were doing. Bonds, on the other hand, knowingly stepped outside the lines. There is no gray area with steroids.
-- Keith in East Wenatchee, Wash.

The Barry Brigade would like you to know that Bonds has never tested positive for steroids -- they want to be "clear" on that -- otherwise they'll "cream" you. For my part, I think you are right on Keith.

Yes they should be labeled cheaters. They cheated and got caught. What the 24, 48 and 8 teams did happened outside of the event itself. It was premeditated, not heat of the moment. They knew that at best they were working in the gray area and at worst were flat out breaking the rules. To compare it to what Bonds is doing: Bonds is using illegal performance enhancers. What the 24, 48 and 8 teams did was try to illegally enhance the performance of their cars. Same thing if you ask me.
-- Ken in Richmond, Va.

I tend to agree with what Keith said a bit more, but it's hard to argue with Ken if you look up "cheat" in the dictionary. The whole point of this though was to demonstrate, that in my mind, the word "cheater" and the like are too destructive for a simple violation. I'm taking suggestions on a better term for these "violators."

My vote is NO, they are not cheaters. Can you really compare the so-called sins of Gordon, Johnson and Junior to Barry Bonds? With Bonds, it is an ongoing process, or at least it appears to be. With the 24, 48 and 8 teams, it is rare that something like this happens ... well, except for Chad Knaus.
-- Mark from Memphis, Tenn.

Chad Knaus did draw particularly harsh criticism from several respondents. If the fans had their way, my guess is that punishments would escalate for repeat offenders sort of like the way that little institution called the U.S. government does things. NASCAR might want to look into this.

Question of the Week

Following the race last weekend I did have one particular "stop everything you're doing and listen up" moment in the post-race news conference. After allegedly getting blown off by teammate Jeff Gordon when he walked down pit road to congratulate him, Kyle Busch had this to say:

"I'm the outsider looking in now, and I'm probably not going to be invited into the team meetings next week, so I think bliss is over at Hendrick Motorsports for Kyle Busch. We'll get ready for 2008." (Listen to audio)

Wow! Kyle Busch takes even the great Jeff Gordon to task. Does nothing scare him? The guy has more confidence than Scooter Libby at his sentencing.

My question is this:

What is the best way for Kyle Busch and HMS to go forward with the rest of their season?

I'm putting this to you, because after the above statement I have no idea what they should do. What happens if Kyle starts wrecking HMS cars mid-race? Or, what about the potential for the year's most awkward moment -- what happens if somehow Kyle drives the 5 car to the championship this year?

Chat Room Chatter

The chat room got off on a comical tangent this week when the jokes started pouring in following Tony Stewart's post-wreck comments publicly blaming his own teammate Denny Hamlin in Daytona last weekend.

What follows are the best from the "Tony would blame ..." files:

Tony would blame a lightning bolt if it hit him.
-- Bill from Litchfield, Ill.

Tony would blame the track for jumping up and making him loose.
-- Martin from Bryan, Texas

Tony would blame the brewmaster if he spilled his beer.
-- Wayne from San Diego, Calif.

Tony would blame the finish line for not crossing him first.
-- Kevin from Fort Worth, Texas

Tony would blame the wall for not moving.
-- Kalin from Daytona, Fla.

Tony would blame the blimp for taking the air off his spoiler.
-- Peter from East Windsor, N.J.

Tony would blame NASCAR for letting all those other cars on the track.
-- Rod from Nevada

I could have added hundreds more, but I don't want to be the subject of a manhunt from our editorial staff here at NASCAR.COM.

Finally, I'm traveling overseas this week so I'll try to provide some perspective on how NASCAR is perceived in other parts of the world in the column to follow. As for my pick, I'm going with the guy who is busting at the seams to get a win -- Athena Barber's boyfriend -- Clint Bowyer.

Enjoy the race!

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.