Driver: Clint Bowyer -- Emporia, Kansas
Team: No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet
Points: 3rd (-346)
2006: 17th in Cup Standings
Key Stats: 2 poles, 1 win, 5 Top-5s, 17 Top-10s
Back in 2008?: Yes
Easily, Clint Bowyer takes the 2007 season's NASCAR most improved driver of the year.
Not only did the Kansas native score a 14-place better finish in the season standings, but Bowyer scored his first career Cup Series win at New Hampshire. The win was impressive enough, but for Bowyer to come up with a such a victory when it truly mattered during his first Chase was all the more incredible.
Additionally, Bowyer turned out to be the lone driver who could effectively battle the two-headed Hendrick Motorsports monster of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson for a good majority of the Chase. Though the run didn't pan out, Bowyer showed some tough tenacity that bodes well for the future for the Richard Childress Driver.
Clint's two pole runs in 2007 came at Darlington in May and then he won from the pole at New Hampshire.
Bowyer's strong showing in the Chase was in direct correlation to the way the team battled through some adversity during the 10-race playoff run. Bowyer's worst finish came when he had officially been taken out of the running for the title in the season's final race at Homestead.
Otherwise, Bowyer saw a 19th-place finish at Texas ruin his chances at the Hendrick duo. The remaining eight finishes had five in the Top-5 and the rest still within the Top-15.
2008 looks like it could be a good year for Bowyer. His lone victory came in the next-generation race car being used full-time in 2008 by NASCAR. His teammates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton were both in the Chase.
And most importantly, everything from his sponsor to his crew chief are back and ready to take on 2008 with no interruptions -- something that's hard to come across in this day of NASCAR racing.
