Clinty's Weekly Blogs

OMG Steph,if you ever ge down that way & have the time you HAVE TO travel through the Smoky Mountains or Blue Ridge in Virginia,its a slice of heaven on earth!

I personally prefer the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, and autumn in Vermont.

Holy hell its been ages since Ive been in here!!

But, here is a new blog!!

Hello guys, sorry it's been so long since I've written the blog. I've just completed the hardest part of my schedule and man have I been through a lot since the last time I was able to sit down at my laptop and write something! Going back to Dover, that was a really good weekend. I've always been strong on concrete tracks and Dover has always gotten along with me because it is a rhythm style track. We haven't won yet on the Cup side, but winning twice in the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet Monte Carlo is something I'm proud of. We didn't make a run to defend my Nationwide title, but I wanted to make sure those guys remembered that I was still the reigning champ.

Kansas came next, and it's hard for me to describe how much that race takes out of me. I have so many appearances I can barely keep up and I always do both the Nationwide and Cup races at the Kansas Speedway. Throw in a trip to Lakeside Speedway in the dirt late model, and our first ever Fan Club party, it was a crazy week. I think I slept for an entire day when we finally left. I was disappointed in the way my home race went this year. I wrecked my race winning Dover car in Nationwide practice, and our Cup race was just one big pile of bad luck. I tried my best and we had some fast laps, but sometimes this sport can really bust you up when it wants to.

Then came California, and while I don't particularly like the racing there, I seem to do decent in the car. I have a pole in the Nationwide car and a bunch of top-10’s in Cup. I think it's a track that I can win at one of these days, but what I really enjoy about that race is seeing all of the Hollywood folks. It's pretty cool when I movie star walks up to talk to a stock car driver like me. The coolest person I talked to was Brian Deegan. Brian started the "Metal Mulisha" and has a bunch of X-Games gold medals, but we raced motocross together in Kansas when we were kids. Brian came by and talked to me for a good while. He looks pretty wild with his tattoos and stuff, but he is a really good guy. He's a family man, and made quite a good living for himself.

Charlotte was next and I'll be honest, it is my least favorite track on the tour. I've had some bad crashes there and I'm always glad to leave without my ears ringing. But, man, I don't know - we had a really strong car this time. We almost won that race in 2007 and we had a shot this year too. I'm a bottom feeder and usually don't feel comfortable on the high-side, but back in 2007 I ran it the whole 500 miles and got second. Last Saturday night I was searching around for a fast line and decided to jump up top and give it a shot. I'll be damned if we didn't start mowing them down! We were high, wide, and handsome and almost made it to the front, but got too tight on the last run.

I can't tell you how proud I am of the boys back at the RCR. Our cars are fast and they're giving me what I need to win races. Now it's time to take care of business.

I've had a really special week. My first nephew, Lincoln Dale, was born Monday night. I tell you what, I've been lucky to experience some unbelievable things since becoming a Cup driver, but nothing compares to seeing Lincoln for the first time. Congrats to Casey and Brook! I also got to go hunting with Richard this week. I'm pretty proud to say that I finally bagged my first Elk. I had to hike about 15 miles and went two days with no sleep, but it was worth it.

Martinsville is this weekend and I love racing there. Plus, it's only an hour or so from home. We were close to winning in the Spring and we'll be even better this trip around. Time is running out on the season and I want to be able to get a win before the end of the year. I'm giving it everything I have, so Shane Wilson and my Helping Hands pit crew can get that win they've been busting their butts for.

I'm rested up and ready to dig.

Thanks for everything, guys.

-Clint Bowyer #33