hearing Clint Bowyer has been talking to Childress about driving the #21 Reese’s RCR Busch Chevy in races that Kevin Harvick doesn’t compete in. Bowyer is 24 years-old and has dominated dirt and paved tracks in the area for the last several years having won Lakeside Speedway and I-70 Speedway track titles as well as NASCAR Regional championships. He competed as a rookie in the NASCAR Elite International Truck & Tire Division this past season. Jason Keller is rumored to be thinking about running the #21 in races Kevin Harvick does not, but supposedly wants a full time gig.(11-7-2003)
UPDATE: Clint Bowyer, a 24-year-old star on dirt and paved tracks in the Midwest, will test Sunday with Richard Childress Racing in Lakeland, Fla., hoping to team with Winston Cup star Kevin Harvick in RCR’s #21 Busch Series entry in 2004. Bowyer has been on hand with the #21 team all weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He has competed at Lakeside and I-70 speedways and has a career-best finish of second in the ARCA event in August at Nashville. “We were racing some ARCA races and I think we caught Richard’s eye. Then I got a call and here I am,” Bowyer said. “I’m going to go up to Lakeland and drive the wheels off of that car and, hopefully, if I can do that, I’ll get a chance.” RCR’s #21 won the 2003 Busch owner’s championship with Harvick and Johnny Sauter splitting time in the car.(ThatsRacin.com)(11-15-2003)
UPDATE 2: Richard Childress Racing has chosen 24-year-old short-track ace Clint Bowyer to drive its championship Busch series car next year, crew chief Butch Hylton said Wednesday. Bowyer will replace Johnny Sauter, who teamed with Kevin Harvick to win the 2003 car owners title for RCR with the #21 Chevy. Brian Vickers of Hendrick Motorsports won the drivers championship. Plans call for Bowyer to drive the car in 14 races and for Harvick to drive in the other 20. Bowyer, from Emporia, Kan., tested with RCR on Sunday at Lakeland’s USA International Speedway. “I started the car out a certain way [with the setup], and he knew immediately what it was,” Hylton said. “I tried to fool him and go the other way, and he knew immediately what it was.” Hylton was part of a Busch champions entourage that NASCAR’s public relations staff brought to the Tampa Marriott Westshore for media interviews. Unlike a few of the recent young drivers who’ve practically bypassed the minor leagues en route to Busch, Bowyer has an extensive background in several types of racing. He won the NASCAR Weekly Racing Midwest Region modified division in 2002, and he scored a second-place ARCA finish this year at Nashville. “I always look for a guy who’s won a lot,” Hylton said. “A lot of guy can drive these cars fast, but to have the instinct to go on and win is really important. You look at his record, he’s won a tremendous amount of races in motorcycles, dirt cars, asphalt cars, super late models, IMCA modifieds, the Midwest truck series and so forth.” RCR again will field two Busch cars next year, with Ron Hornaday returning in the #2 AC Delco Chevy. Hornaday missed the drivers championship by 46 points this year. Hylton said the emphasis with the #21 team will shift to research and development for RCR’s Nextel Cup program and training young pit crew members.(Tampa Tribune)(11-20-2003)
