Clint Bowyer

Clint Bowyer is a NASCAR driver, born in Emporia in 1979. At the age of five he began racing motocross (a form of motorcycle sport held on enclosed off-road circuits). When he was 17 when he started racing street stock cars at the Thunderhill Speedway in Mayetta. He was a successful racer winning a modified championship at Thunderhill Speedway in 2000, and modified championships in 2001 at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, and Heartland Park in Topeka. His success allowed him to start racing in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series in 2002. That same year he won the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Midwest Championship after another modified championship at Lakeside Speedway and a late model championship at the I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Missouri.

The following year Bowyer raced a full season in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division Midwest series. Legendary car owner Richard Childress took notice of Bowyer when Clint finished second in a 2003 race. Clint was at a fabrication shop in Emporia when he was told that someone from Richard Childress Racing was on the phone to discuss hiring him. At first Clint didn't believe the offer was real. "I 'bout hung up on him," Bowyer said. "I just thought it was somebody messing with me."

In 2004 Bowyer began racing in the NASCAR Busch Series for Richard Childress Racing. He competed full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2004 and 2005, finishing as series runner-up in 2005. His success allowed him to start racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2006. He continues to drive the number 07 car owned by Richard Childress Racing. Clint maintains his ties with Kansas and works with Kansas charity organizations and appears at some events in Kansas. As one of the first successful NASCAR drivers from Kansas Clint has helped to spread the popularity of NASCAR throughout the state.