“They Never Understood What I Did”: Clint Bowyer Sheds Light on What Separates Racing from Other Sports

Clint Bowyer currently analyzes races from the FOX Sports booth after retiring from NASCAR in 2020. But his route to racing grew from a household that dealt with engines, travel, and weekends spent at tracks. His father, Chris Bowyer, raced on dirt bikes, focusing on motocross, and that exposure drew Clint toward competition at an early age.

The Bowyer family ran a towing business on Graham Street in Emporia, Kansas. That same building doubled as their workspace for race cars. Wrenches, parts, and late nights filled the garage, and Bowyer later pointed to that setting, along with his father’s guidance, as the base of his racing career.

Yet racing did not surround him in the broader sense. Emporia did not function as a racing town, and Bowyer did not grow up among peers who shared his interests. Attention largely centered on baseball, football, soccer, and other stick-and-ball sports, which drew crowds and recognition.

During a 2013 interview, while visiting Emporia and driving through familiar streets, Bowyer reflected on how isolated his path once felt. “Nobody raced cars in Emporia, I mean that wasn’t the thing to do.”

“I was always a kid that was gone on the weekends, and when I get back Monday, everybody’s like where have you been all weekend. They never understood what I did until obviously, one day they saw you on TV and you’re like holy cow, this is what you’ve been doing all these years.”

That gap between racing and traditional sports stayed with him, and he addressed it, saying, “So, it is neat, but that’s what’s different about our sport. It’s a different way of sports. It’s a different way of growing up; it takes a different path. Anybody that raced cars, there was a period in their life where they weren’t the cool kid, they weren’t the end thing to do.”

“Obviously, baseball, football, soccer, those things, the stick and ball Sports were the end things to do, and people got it when a kid went from high school and played college ball and then went to Pro people understood that path,” he summed up. Despite feeling out of sync with his peers, Bowyer never lost his bond with Emporia. The now 46-year-old admitted that Emporia stands as the only place he calls home.

When asked whether the town treats him differently, Bowyer responded by pointing to his relationship with the town as the part that matters most. Every visit carries weight for him because it reminds him of the experience. His trips were humbling, and he credited the people for that feeling because a sense of community defined Emporia, according to Boywer.

And that simple living environment is why the town continues to hold its place in Bowyer’s life long after he has moved to Mocksville, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife, Lorra, and their children.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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