Three consecutive top-ten finishes was enough to move Clint Bowyer on into the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Bowyer’s ‘steady Eddie’ strategy resulted in three solid finishes and allowed him to advance into the Round of 12.
“I just feel comfortable we’re getting back to our consistency,” said Bowyer. “I guess for a long time in my career I was kind of steady Eddie, and that’s what it takes in these playoffs, to go the rounds, you can’t make mistakes. I said that going into these playoffs. For our team, we’ve got to live up to our capabilities, and if we can do that and race to our capabilities and not make the mistakes we were making through the summer months, we can contend and move forward rounds in this playoff system, and that’s what we’re doing.
It’s the third consecutive year Bowyer has moved past the first round of the playoffs. The 41-year-old has never won the championship, but placed as high as second in 2012 while driving for Michael Waltrip Racing.
This upcoming round is going to be an unpredictable one for the remaining contenders. Although the series heads to Las Vegas next, it’s Talladega and the Charlotte Roval that follow, but Bowyer sees only opportunity.
“I like it. I’m ready. Talladega is a crapshoot. Roval is a lot of fun. But again, things can happen. At the end of the day I’ve had a different approach to the whole thing this year. This whole damned year has been chaotic and everything else, and you’ve just got to go out there and do the best you can do and not worry about or panic about anything else. That’s all you can do anyway. Just taking it race by race, and I’m looking forward to this round, too. These are some of my best finishes coming at these tracks right here. Vegas has been an up‑and‑down track for me to say the least, but I’m really looking forward to Talladega, believe it or not, and obviously the Roval.”
Bowyer joins Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Aric Almirola and Kevin Harvick in the Round of 12. Cole Custer in the fourth SHR entry was eliminated Saturday night at Bristol.
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