After 15 seasons in NASCAR’s premier series, including the last four with Stewart-Haas Racing, Clint Bowyer decided to hang up his helmet at the end of the 2020 season and put on a new hat – that of TV announcer for the NASCAR on FOX portion of the 2021 season.
Bowyer will be joined in the broadcast booth by veteran announcers Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon – one of Bowyer’s old rivals on the race track. Bowyer will make his official debut as part of the three-member team with FOX Sports’ coverage of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14.
“Just like my driving career, I will be part of a great team and organization with great teammates,” Bowyer said. “To say I’m excited would be an understatement.”
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season produced two first-time winners, with rookie Cole Custer scoring an electrifying victory at Kentucky Speedway and third-year Cup Series driver William Byron doing the same in the regular-season finale at Daytona.
So, who will become a first-time Cup Series winner in 2021?
Christopher Bell, who takes over the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from Erik Jones, seems like the safest bet, based on the kind of equipment he will have at his disposal and the fact that he made winning look easy over his past couple of years in the Xfinity Series prior to joining the Cup Series last year with Leavine Family Racing.
Others with a good chance of breaking through include Tyler Reddick, Matt DiBenedetto, Bubba Wallace and rookie Chase Briscoe.