Clint Bowyer 2016 Preview
By Richard Tix
He made the Chase and I gave him a F on the season in the 2015 Review, what does that tell you? I am 100% sure that it is the first time in NASCAR Behind the Wall history that has happened. Some of it was in his control (racing and finishes), but others parts weren't (slow cars, MWR folding).
No matter how you look at it, he underachieved most peoples expectation heading into 2015. So now what do we think for 2016?
Clint is in a one year stint taking over the #51 spot that Justin Algaier was holding (HScott). Sounds like they will change the number to #15, but it is a small funded team with mixed results when Algaier was behind the wheel. I really thought Justin did a great job with what he had and its unfortunate he got the boot.
Anyways, Clint should at least perform as well as JA did in 2015. After 2016 Bowyer will move into the huge void that will be left at SHR when Tony Stewart retires. His expectations are down this year, but they will go up dramatically entering 2017.
Bold Predictions/2016 Season Expectations:
- Bowyer is going to continue to grow his win-less streak all the way to Stewart Haas Racing. He currently is on a streak of 113 races without a win to start 2016. That is three straight season's he has gone win-less. If anyone needed a change of scenery from a team it was Bowyer. Even though he is stepping to a smaller team, I think he could still post close numbers to 2015 (that's how bad his top finish numbers were). 0 wins, 2-3 top 5's, and 6-9 top 10's seems to fit Bowyer in his year stuck in the middle of transition. For comparison, JA had just 1 top 10 in 2015.
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