RELATED: See Bowyer’s new look for 2018
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Clint Bowyer is still looking for a breakthrough win with Stewart-Haas Racing after Year 1 with the program, but he enters Year 2 with the same sense of humor that always seems to liven up the Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway at the Charlotte Convention Center.
The 13-year veteran of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series had the quip machine rolling Tuesday. Here were some of the best lines the driver from Emporia, Kansas, blessed us with:
On why Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans should get behind him now that their favorite driver has retired:
“I’m just going to have to see what (Alex) Bowman does I guess. If he fails ’em, I’m coming for him. I’m going to give (Bowman) a month and then I’m going to start my campaign.”
On what he did during his offseason:
“These kids change your life in the offseason. No more vacations, no more gallivanting around, it’s dad duty.
“I was home probably, I think, five weeks. I think the most I’ve ever been home since I moved to North Carolina has been three weeks. So I was like champing at the bit. I had a friend call and say, ‘Hey you want to go to Nashville,’ and I was like, ‘I can start walking now.’ “
On the one thing he’d change from his car last year:
“Confetti, more confetti. That’s what I would want to change. Yeah, that’s right.”
On being a good radio guest and listening to himself on radio:
“Hell no (I don’t listen), but people remind you all week long. … I ought to get a damn trophy for it, though. That’s what makes me mad. If you’re going to use me, at least pay me.”
On whether new teammate Aric Almirola is a good dude and he’d hang out with him:
“Of course he’s a good dude. I think he’s a great asset to an already great organization. He’s a good guy, he really is. … You can tell a lot about a guy by how his kids act, and he has great kids.”
On what we can tell by how his kids act:
“I apologize, I failed miserably. But no, my kid is way more mild-mannered and calm and chilled than I’ve ever been. I’m like, are you sure honey (he’s mine)?
“There’s other kids you see running around and you’re like, ‘Yup, that’s exactly what I thought he’d act like.’ “
On last year’s performance:
“We were spraying it all over the place. It was good runs, good qualifying efforts sometimes and back up with two terrible ones and then run good again. And it was like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ … You couldn’t figure out a pattern.”
On the marketing push for young drivers:
“I haven’t noticed that (said with a smile). … No, I don’t care, they’re good kids and I understand. They are filling some pretty big voids. You got someone getting into Jeff Gordon’s car, you got someone getting in Dale Jr.’s car. We have to figure out how to fill that void somehow, and it can’t always be on the same old guys that have been there.”