NASCAR Cup Series

Clint Bowyer's Sonoma hopes go up in smoke after electrical fire

Published Jun. 26, 2016 3:56 p.m. ET

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An unhappy 2016 season for Clint Bowyer got even worse in the opening laps of Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

On Lap 5 of the 110-lap race, Bowyer’s HScott Motorsports Chevrolet had an electric fire, forcing him to stop on course in Turn 8. Clearly upset, Bowyer threw his helmet into the cockpit of his car.

Bowyer won this race in 2012, when he drove for the now-defunct Michael Waltrip Racing team. But in this, his one and only season with HScott before moving to Stewart-Haas Racing, Bowyer has been a huge disappointment

“Yeah, it’s terribly frustrating,” said Bowyer, who came into this race 23rd in points. “This is my favorite race track and I’ve run really good at it. I don’t know. 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.” 

At least Bowyer kept his sense of humor.

“Smoke is never good in the cockpit and it stinks,” he said. “Hell, I couldn’t breathe.”

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