Bowman Talks Chili Bowl, Previews Cup Series Effort
Bowman, a former midget racer who fielded a car for C.J. Leary during the annual midget racing extravaganza earlier this month, acknowledged Tuesday during the NASCAR Media Tour that things didn’t go nearly as planned in Tulsa, Okla., on Jan. 9-13.
“We fought fuel-system issues all day on Thursday,” Bowman said. “Then Saturday we were going through alphabet soup there and somehow the shift linkage bracket on the chassis side bent and it wouldn’t stay in gear in the B main.
“I don’t know if the in-out box in the rear end broke or the bracket bent first. Either way it wouldn’t stay in gear,” Bowman said. “We had all kinds of issues all week. It was pretty frustrating but I think we know how to get it all fixed and be fine next year.”
It wasn’t a total loss for Bowman and Leary, who proved that the car had plenty of speed when it was running properly. Leary won his D main to advance to a C main, where he raced from the rear of the field to finish sixth. Had it not been for the shift linkage issue in the B main he very well may have raced his way into the Chili Bowl feature.
Bowman has already begun preparations for 2019 edition of the Chili Bowl. He said the car has already been stripped and to top it all off, he’s having a second midget chassis built based off the current chassis he already owns.
“We’re working on a second car. The car we had this year is already stripped and has been sent to the chassis shop to get duplicated,” Bowman said. “I love that style of racing. I love getting my hands dirty. The Chili Bowl was probably a little more stressful than I would have liked this year. I didn’t anticipate to show up and have everything go wrong.
“The previous two years we didn’t have a single issue with the race car at all. So to go there this year and have all those issues, hopefully I’ll get another couple years without any issues.”
Could one of Bowman’s midgets show up at other events besides the Chili Bowl and could he be driving it? Only time will tell.
“I think if some of the rumored races end up happening at the end of November you’ll probably see it back out,” Bowman said. “Obviously, I have a large desire to drive those race cars. They’re my favorite race cars in the world. They’re just cool.
“Hopefully, I’ll get to drive one again. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
With the Chili Bowl now behind him, Bowman now has bigger things on his mind. He’ll be taking over the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 from Dale Earnhardt Jr., who retired following the conclusion of the 2017 season.
Is he feeling any pressure knowing he is replacing the most popular driver in NASCAR?
“Not really,” Bowman lamented. “I have a pretty strong desire to win races and I’m really hungry for wins. I think that really matters more to me than any pressure anybody is going to put on me.”
Perhaps part of the reason he isn’t feeling any pressure is because after spending seven months out of the car, Bowman climbed behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series last season and won at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 7.
“There were a lot of questions in my mind of whether I’d be fast off the bat or ready to get back in the car,” Bowman said. “It was very encouraging to be out of the car for seven months and then right off the bat get a win. I think it just proves that I can come out of the box strong and it gave me a lot of confidence this offseason.”
When everything is said and done, Bowman admits that he is just thankful for the opportunity to drive for Hendrick Motorsports.
“I’m glad that it all worked out this way,” Bowman said. “It could have easily gone a different direction. I’m very thankful for how things have gone and hopefully we’ll see if they pay off with race wins and contending for a championship.”
Source :speedsport.com
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