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Clint Bowyer to retire from NASCAR at the end of 2020 season and move to Fox broadcast booth

Clint Bowyer has five more races as a full-time driver in the Cup Series.

Bowyer announced Thursday that he’d be retiring from racing at the end of the 2020 season. He has 10 wins in over 500 starts across 15 full-time seasons at NASCAR’s top level. Bowyer will move from the seat of the No. 14 car at Stewart-Haas Racing to the broadcast booth at Fox Sports.

“I want to thank every owner who has paid a bill on my behalf, every crew member who has turned a bolt on my cars and every media member who has covered my racing career,” Bowyer said. “Thank you to every sponsor that has invested in me and thank you to every fan who has cheered me along the way.”

Bowyer, 41, currently sits 11th in the NASCAR playoffs ahead of the final race of the second round on Sunday at the Charlotte Roval. Bowyer needs to win or be in the top eight of the points standings after the race to move on to the third round.

Bowyer is in his fourth season at SHR. He was signed by the team after Tony Stewart announced he’d retire at the end of the 2016 season and spent the 2015 season at HScott Motorsports before taking over Stewart’s seat.

He’s won two races at SHR. Both came in 2018 when he was victorious at Martinsville and Michigan.

That Martinsville win was his first since 2012, the best season of Bowyer’s career. Bowyer finished second to Brad Keselowski in the points standings and had three wins and 23 top-10 finishes.

Bowyer got his start in the Cup Series at Richard Childress Racing. He finished third in the points in his second full-time season with the team and was fifth the next season in 2008. He move from RCR to Michael Waltrip Racing after 2011 and was with MWR until 2015.

Clint Bowyer takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Clint Bowyer's first full-time Cup Series season was in 2006. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Chase Briscoe to the 14?

Bowyer’s retirement leaves a seat open at Stewart-Haas Racing. And the team has an obvious candidate to fill it.

Chase Briscoe currently leads the Xfinity Series points standings and has eight wins so far in 2020. Briscoe has 10 wins across 78 career Xfinity Series starts and has shown that he’s ready to move up to the Cup Series.

A move to Cup for Briscoe would mean that SHR has found internal replacements for drivers in each of the past two seasons. The team elevated Cole Custer from the Xfinity Series to the No. 41 car after the 2019 season.

A three-man Fox booth?

Fox’s Cup Series broadcast booth had just Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon in 2020 after Darrell Waltrip’s retirement in 2019. Now it sure looks like Bowyer will be part of the Cup Series booth and fill an analyst role there since Fox’s broadcasts have long had three people calling races.

Bowyer’s gotten plenty of experience doing TV work recently. He’s been an analyst for Xfinity Series and Truck Series races for Fox as the network has used current Cup Series drivers for lower-series broadcasts. He’ll be an energetic addition to Fox’s coverage.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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