KANSAS CITY, Kan. _ Clint Bowyer glanced down at his phone recently and noticed he had received an email about something he is keenly interested in.
It might have seemed a mundane subject: He was being asked to approve some merchandise for the race team for which he will drive in 2017, Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 14 car, which will soon be vacated by the retiring Tony Stewart.
"You are like, 'Holy cow, it's becoming reality,' " Bowyer said Friday at Kansas Speedway, where he will drive in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400. "It's fixing to pick up in a big way."
It also can't come a moment too soon for Bowyer, an eight-time winner over his 11-year career who is spending this "bridge" season driving in relative purgatory for HScott Motorsports, one of NASCAR's minnows (he was released after the 2015 season by now-defunct Michael Waltrip Racing).
"Certainly, it's always natural to start thinking about next year," said Bowyer, who doesn't have a top-five finish this season and was 19th in the points in the regular season, far out of Chase contention. "You'd better be this time of year, no matter if you are moving or staying the same. That's how far in advance you have to look in this sport."
Finishing as high as second in the championship race in 2012 and third in 2007, Bowyer has long been one of the sport's top drivers and most engaging personalities.
"I've never struggled like this," Bowyer said. "I take some of that blame, too. It's a situation to where roles reverse and you don't have the upper hand on (other drivers) and it's a hell of a challenge. That's where we are at right now. But when you hopefully get in a situation to where those doubts and those things are out, you get those gremlins out of your head and you can compete at the level that you know you are capable of."
But Bowyer said the problems he's had this season have taught him valuable lessons as a driver. With an average finish of 23.5, he's seeing races from a new perspective.
"You have to find things out of anything in life that you can use as an advantage," Bowyer said. "I've learned a lot. This sport is hard. It's so competitive. You take things for granted sometimes and speed and competition are certainly (among) those things.
"When you are in cars that are running up front, it's the easiest thing ever. You are running back there in 20th-place land and it opened my eyes to how hard those guys are driving back there. It's extremely difficult to race in that mid-pack land. I'm looking forward to using that."
The next stop for Bowyer is in Stewart's iconic No. 14 _ which will be a Ford next season after Stewart-Haas Racing switches brands from Chevrolet. Bowyer said he's been in contact with crew chief Mike Bugarewicz for several months. He's also getting ready to establish new relationships with future SHR teammates Danica Patrick (whom Bowyer said he knows well), Kurt Busch (whom Bowyer doesn't know particularly well) and Kevin Harvick.
"It's going to be a lot of fun," said Bowyer. "It's going to be a neat atmosphere and something that _ (11) years into this thing _ one of the best opportunities ever is at your doorstep and fixing to happen. It's pretty cool."
