Clint Bowyer plans to retire from full-time competition as a NASCAR Cup Series driver at the end of the 2020 season, the driver revealed via Twitter [@ClintBowyer] on Thursday night. He’ll move on to a broadcasting career, joining the NASCAR on FOX team in 2021.
“Just like my driving career, I will be part of a great team and organization with great teammates,” Bowyer said of his broadcasting opportunity. “To say I’m excited would be an understatement.”
Bowyer has contested 536 races throughout his Cup Series career with five races remaining this season. He has been a full-time driver in the series since 2006, when team owner Richard Childress promoted him from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Xfinity Series program.
Bowyer also has driven for Michael Waltrip Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing, with a one-year stint with HScott Motorsports in between. He has been driver of the #14 SHR Ford since 2017, taking over that seat upon the NASCAR driving retirement of SHR co-owner Tony Stewart.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized these opportunities are few and far between, and when they come around, you must recognize them. Just like the days before I got the call from R.C. (Richard Childress) standing in that Ford body shop, I’ve been racing throughout this year wondering, ‘What’s next?’”
Bowyer has 10 Cup Series wins, the most recent coming at Michigan International Speedway in 2018. He also has won races in the Xfinity and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck series and was the 2008 Xfinity Series champion as he raced full-time in both the Cup and Xfinity series.
“I’ve sat in race cars prepared by some of the very best men and women the sport has to offer for world-class organizations,” Bowyer said. “Sharing victory lane with the people representing Richard Childress Racing, Kevin Harvick Inc., Michael Waltrip Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing is what it’s all about.”
Bowyer made the 2020 Cup Series playoffs and is 11th in the standings heading into Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, the elimination race of the round of 12. He is 17 points behind Kyle Busch, the driver provisionally in eighth, the last advancing position.
