Bowyer relaxed, cautious on confidence for Chase

LOUDON, N.H. -- Clint Bowyer might not have been fastest on every one of the 93 laps he ran in the three practices held this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway -- but he ended each of them at the top of the time sheet.

That puts a lot of spring into Bowyer's step as he tries to defend his victory in Sunday's Sylvania 300, the kickoff event of the fifth annual Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Two-time defending Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has been Bowyer's practice nemesis for two days. Bowyer's No. 07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was .027 seconds clear of Johnson's No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports car in Friday's lone practice.

On Saturday, Bowyer was .115 seconds ahead of Johnson in the opening practice and in Happy Hour, Bowyer was .012 seconds better than last July's New Hampshire winner Denny Hamlin, with Johnson fifth.

"And we drew No. 1 to qualify, so that's just been our number this weekend," Bowyer's crew chief Gil Martin said with a laugh. "But we've had a lot of weekends where we drew No. 32, too."

That was Bowyer's shame throughout the summer, as he and his team got a little off track, failed to lead a lap since May and fell out of the top-12 teams that were qualified for the Chase. But they rebounded with a stout 12th-place finish at Richmond to solidly make the Chase, in which they're seeded fifth.

In two days of practice, two of Bowyer's prime Chase competitors -- top seed Kyle Busch and No. 2 seed Carl Edwards -- were varying degrees of out to lunch. And former New Hampshire winner Kevin Harvick -- next to Johnson the hottest driver coming into the Chase -- was mediocre at best.

Does that make Bowyer and his team overconfident? Not a chance.

"I think it's a case of where, when it comes to be race time -- when the money's on the line -- the 18 [Busch], the 99 [Edwards], the 20 [Tony Stewart] and the 24 [Jeff Gordon] are all going to be right there," Martin said. "So that's why I'm saying, it's not that we've got them over a barrel by any means because when they drop the rag [green flag] to go for the money, those guys will be there."

Bowyer agreed but said it was good to be back in a comfort zone he had earlier this season, when he raced up to fourth in the standings.

"I just think you've got to get comfortable, to start having that smile on your face and get that confidence back, get that swagger back," Bowyer said. "That's what this team's been missing. We've been at each other's throat, we've been struggling, we've been testing and we've been working hard and the results haven't been showing." (Continued)