Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR
For Clint Bowyer, 2011 will be remembered as the final year he drove for the man who gave him his big break in NASCAR, Richard Childress. Bowyer and his Cheerios Chevy team were contenders in many events in 2010 but often fell victim to mistakes or getting caught up in incidents not of their own doing.
Bowyer's season started off slow, but after the fifth race of the year at Auto Club Speedway, he and his team began to knock off solid finishes. On through to the halfway point of the season, it looked as though the 33 car would be one of the 12 to make NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup. Unfortunately, the season fell apart through the summer as he dropped from eighth in the standings going into the July event at Daytona to 14th by the time the Chase field was set at Richmond. In the final 10 events, Bowyer's season perked up. Along with finishes of seventh, eighth, seventh, ninth, 10th and sixth, Bowyer won his only event of the season at Talladega.
Bowyer went all the way to the 33rd race of the year before he received a penalty from NASCAR for speeding in the pits. The 33 crew did not receive a penalty all year long.
2011 Statistics For Clint Bowyer
13th in Sprint Cup standings
1 win (Good Sam Club 500)
4 top 5s
16 top 10s
345 laps led
2011 Penalty Report For Clint Bowyer
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 4 - Pitting before pit road is open
Race 10 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 18 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 31 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field - Back Up
Race 33 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field