Clint Bowyer ready for 2019 NASCAR season, Daytona

As Clint Bowyer mapped out his plans for the brief NASCAR offseason, he focused primarily on relaxation, and for the most part, he stuck to it. Family time over the holidays. Skiing in Colorado. A visit to his hometown.

But last weekend, he departed from the leisure. He took a trip to Arrowhead Stadium. An Emporia native, Bowyer has long been vocal about his Chiefs fandom. The result of the AFC Championship Game — a New England Patriots victory in overtime — was responsible for his increased stress level.

“Maaaaan,” he said. “We gave them a hell of a battle.”

From his home in North Carolina, Bowyer followed the Chiefs throughout the season. When NASCAR came to Kansas City in October, he actually had the chance to see the Chiefs play the Cincinnati Bengals, after the NFL moved the game to Sunday night.

Following the Chiefs presents Bowyer with an interesting dynamic. After nine months of being a man in the center of the public eye, the NASCAR driver steps back and absorbs the other side of it all.

Just like the nearly 80,000 who joined him at Arrowhead last weekend, he’s a fan.

“The crazy thing about it is it’s no different than our fans in NASCAR — you become attached to individuals, to people,” Bowyer said. “Usually for me it’s all through a relationship or something else that makes you really want to pull for somebody. It’s been no exception with the Chiefs this year. They all came out to Kansas Speedway and rooted us on doing what we do. And (I) certainly showed up and showed the same respect to them.”

Several Chiefs players attended the spring race at Kansas Speedway. You might remember quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ jorts picture.

Behind the scenes that day, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach made a point of meeting Bowyer. They hung out in Bowyer’s trailer. Exchanged numbers. After the season started, Veach gave Bowyer a signed Mahomes jersey to wear to that Bengals game. He enjoyed it for the winter, his NASCAR offseason.

But now Bowyer’s focus returns to racing.

On Feb. 17, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup’s regular-season schedule opens with the Daytona 500. But Bowyer, who reached the Round of 8 in last year’s playoffs, will first head to Las Vegas to test some new NASCAR rules that include adjustments to the car (tapered spacer, aero ducts, radiator pan, splitter and spoiler) based on the track.

Before he establishes his objectives for 2018, he wants to get a feel for how those modifications affect his car.

“I don’t think anybody can expect too much right now or know what to expect,” Bowyer said. “I’m looking forward to going out (to Vegas) and getting the idea of the expectations going into the season under my belt first-hand.

“The face of our sport is going to be different. Time will tell what opinions are made, and I’ll certainly form my opinion when that time comes.”