Clint Bowyer Says ‘I Was Getting Ready’ to Retire Soon But Wasn’t Fully Ready

Clint Bowyer in his 15th full season of the NASCAR Cup Series and his 4th with Stewart-Haas Racing. He decided to retire from full-time racing on Oct 9th, 2020.

While his career has had the classic ‘connecting the dots backward’ story arc, Clint Bowyer wasn’t 100% keen on retiring as a full-time racer. His decision has revolved around various factors.

While the 41-year-old Bowyer was keen on continuing to race, he could sense that Stewart-Haas Racing was eyeing Chase Briscoe to replace him for the next season. He likely felt that he would not race for a team with the legacy of SHR ever again.

Regarding his retirement, he said, “Was I ready? I was getting ready, I was getting close to being ready.

“Was I ready after this pandemic and after this covid year of no fans and a weird way to go out? No, and I don’t think probably Jimmie Johnson was either,” he further expressed.

Clint Bowyer on life after racing

Bowyer has been very open in stating the uncertainty he faced during the pandemic regarding his career as a racer, his growing age, and few and far between opportunities. Starting next season, he is all set to join Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon in the FOX Sports booth, calling the races.

“I love being a part of this sport,” Bowyer said. “That was so important for me. I didn’t want to just retire. If this opportunity with FOX didn’t come to the table, I was going to be in a car somewhere, somehow,” he added.

He went on to mention, “Was I looking for that ‘what’s next’ moment or opportunity? And that answer is absolutely, ‘Yes’

“I wasn’t just going to quit and run off into the sunset because I like this sport and I wanted to find my way and future in it, and luckily this happened.”

Clint is excited about the prospects of calling the races from the booth. However, he hasn’t ruled out chances of getting behind the wheels, if and when needed.