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Why Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer is the perfect match at SHR

External News Wire | 01/05/17

Author: Chase Wihelm

Date: Dec. 17, 2016

The tides of change are rapidly rolling through Stewart-Haas Racing as the 2017 NASCAR Premier Series season will be here before we know it. Any team would be quick to tell you the offseason is really anything but, as some choose to refer to it as the “slower season.”

But, even that doesn’t accurately portray what’s going on behind-the-scenes at SHR, with the organization hard at work making the manufacturer switch from Chevrolet to Ford in time for next year.

And that’s not the only change that’s taking place, as Clint Bowyer will take over the No. 14 Ford Fusion following Tony Stewart’s retirement from full-time NASCAR competition in November.

One of the guys most excited about Bowyer’s move is his new (and old) teammate, Kevin Harvick. The pair served as teammates at Richard Childress Racing from 2006 through 2011, when Bowyer parted ways with the team to join Michael Waltrip Racing in 2012.

“I’m really excited about Clint because I’ve known him since the first time that he sat in a car at RCR. I was there with him,” Harvick told FOXSports.com. “I know a lot about Clint.”

The Harvick/Bowyer reunion is a perfect scenario for SHR, as both drivers are cut from the same old racer fabric – a good old boy, tell it like it is mentality the sport was built upon and their fans adore.

“Clint and I are really good friends, and he is cut from that same Stewart-Haas racer mold that everybody there is pretty much cut by,” Harvick said. “I think Clint coming on board is going to be a positive by knowing him and being friends with him.”

The 2014 NASCAR champion is highly anticipating the opportunity to work alongside him, as Harvick believes Bowyer is right piece to the SHR puzzle.

“Our cars are built side-by-side in the shop, as they have been for the past couple years when Tony was driving them,” Harvick added. “The same people are doing a lot of the same things in the shop.

“As we go forward with Mike (Bugarewicz) as the crew chief on that car, we have a great working relationship since he was the engineer on my car. There are a lot of things to build on and a lot of positives to look forward to.”

To view this article as it appears on FOXSports.com, click here


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