Do you think Clint Bowyer came into his fourth season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series with a chip on his shoulder?

Despite making the Chase for the Championship the last two years, Bowyer wasn’t tabbed by many in the preseason to be one of the favorites to qualify and contend for the title this season. Many believed he would have trouble adjusting to his new team and ride in the No. 33 Cheerios/ Hamburger Helper Chevy.

Wrong.

It’s been the exact opposite as the 29-year-old Emporia native is fourth in points to earn the title as the top driver out of the Richard Childress Racing stable.

Although Bowyer’s off to a positive start through the first seven races, there’s one big reason, I think, why Bowyer gets overlooked.

Two Cup wins in 116 career starts.

While consistency is the mark of a good driver and team, it doesn’t always equate to being the flashy pick to win a championship. Do I think Bowyer can win a championship? Yes and he’s proven he can be crowned a champion by being consistent.

Bowyer claimed the Nationwide Series championship a season ago by winning just one race. But, he finished in the top-10 in 29 of 30 races.

Although Bowyer hasn’t been below sixth in the series point standings, the schedule picks up in the next three months.    

From this coming Saturday night’s race at the Phoenix International Raceway to the July 11 race at the Chicagoland Speedway, the Cup series will race 13-straight weeks with 12 points races in the mix.

In my opinion, this stretch will test Bowyer and his team to see if they will contend for the title.

Heck, if Bowyer gets hot during the Chase and can win two or three races, with his consistency, he could easily be crowned champion.

So what do you think? Is Bowyer a legitimate title contender? Can Bowyer and his RCR team string together some wins?

OK, besides my thoughts on Bowyer’s chances as Cup champion, I have some extra quotes from the interview I did with him for the “On the Fast Track” tab.

Obviously racing at the Kansas Speedway is a big deal for the Emporia native.

“Being able to go back to Kansas City and race is very special for me,” Bowyer said. “We haven’t been able to get the job done yet. We’ve been in contention for a win and we’ve been out front. Having the hometown crowd for us is very important.”

For a racer who came from the Midwest and Kansas dirt to a cham-pion as one of the top tiers in NASCAR, I asked him to give a few words of advice for aspiring racers from his native state.

“Well I think the first thing is anything is possible,” Bowyer said. “It all started on the dirt and you get what you put into it. Winning races and winning championships is a big start. Racing is a really a family sport and that’s how it was for us. You’ve got to listen to your parents because they know best. Don’t give up and work hard. I’m very proud and fortunate that what me and my family put into it paid off.”

Brian Franz is a heck of a racer.

Franz, of Halstead, is a five-time National Championship Racing Association Modified champion and a 27-time A-Feature winner after last Saturday night’s triumph at 81 Speedway. Franz leads the NCRA in both categories.

Although Franz finished eighth in points last year with the NCRA, he was untouchable in the last five years to claim the handful of championships.

Earlier this season, I had an opportunity to speak with Franz at a preseason test and tune session at 81 Speedway in Park City. I mainly asked him how the current state of the economy may or may not impact racing this season.   

Q: First off Brian, what are your thoughts on the current state of the economy and how that will deal with racing?
“I think you’ll see the car count a little lower. The weekly shows will probably stay strong. The bigger races where people have to travel, I think that’s going to affect that for sure.”

Q: I’m sure it helps that racing fans are extremely loyal.
“Absolutely. Last year at the end of the year, the economy was going down and the car count was still strong and the fan base was still there.”

Q: A lot of racers are in the sport because they love racing and aren’t trying to make a lot of money doing this.   
“Racers always seem to find money to go racing, I don’t know how. But we’re very fortunate that we have a lot of great sponsors and it really doesn’t cost us much. In general, yeah it’s kind of strange. You always think, how do these guys keep doing it. Everybody always seems to show back up, which is good.”

Q: As the season gets ready to start, how are things with you and your team? Have you had to make any significant changes?
“I know that I’m going to run the same car that we ran last year. I normally don’t do that, but just for that fact that we don’t know what the economy is going to do. We kind of pick and chose which races we want to go to. We’re probably going to go to the same races like we always do.”

Q: You mentioned it earlier, but I’m sure for a racer like you that has won the championships and the feature wins that it’s a little bit easier for you to go racing?
“We’re in a really good position. It really doesn’t cost us much out of pocket to race, which is very fortunate. There are some guys out there that have to flip the bill for everything and that hurts. I’ve been there a long time and I know how that is and it’s not fun.”

Q: Talk about the significance that sponsors play in helping your team continue to race.
“If you can pick a few sponsors up, that makes it a lot easier. It’s not a bunch of money, but every bit helps. You just got to budget yourself. I know that I’m watching it closer. Yeah, I think everyone is going to be watching things a little bit closer.”

As a passionate race fan, I’m excited about the opportunity to get out and cover racing while hopefully meeting many fans who also share my love of racing.

Besides being a place where I will post my various thoughts, ideas and news, I’d like to be a place where you, the fan, can sound off with your thoughts and opinions about racing. I’d also like to engage in discussions on various racing topics and throw out questions to get your opinions.

To get this started, I want to know what you’re excited about as a new season gets under way and what driver or drivers are you looking forwarding to seeing?