By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor
The abysmal season for Clint Bowyer at HScott Motorsports continued Sunday at Sonoma Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.
Bowyer rolled off from a respectable 18th-starting position at one of his best tracks, but it didn’t take long for things to come undone for the driver of the No. 15 Five-Hour Energy Chevrolet SS.
On lap five, Bowyer came to a stop on the racetrack. As he attempted to re-fire his machine, smoke began to billow from under the dashboard. Bowyer quickly hopped out, and then hurdled his racing helmet and gloves back into the car after he exited.
“It’s just a shame. It caught on fire,” Bowyer explained. “Smoke is never good in the cockpit and it stinks. Hell, I couldn’t breathe.”
Bowyer, who has just two top-10 finishes through the first 16 races of 2016, talked about the frustrations after an early exit on Sunday.
“Yeah, it’s terribly frustrating. This is my favorite race track and I’ve run really good at it. I don’t know,” said Bowyer. “It kind of sometimes inexcusable when stuff breaks that quick, but who knows what happened. I’m sure a wire was rubbing on something or something and just shorted out and burnt up. It’s a shame.”
Bowyer would be credited with a last-place finish.
