Aric Almirola Fires Shot at Clint Bowyer During Duel 1 at Daytona Victory Speech

Clint Bowyer called it quits at the end of 2020 after 16 years on the NASCAR Cup Series, which included 10 career wins. This season Bowyer moves up into the Fox broadcast booth for NASCAR coverage with Mike Joy and former driver Jeff Gordon. 

Bowyer revealed his personality and freewheeling style this week through his commentary during the various events leading up to the Daytona 500. He also showed he can take some heat when Aric Almirola fired a direct shot at him during his victory speech at the conclusion of the Duel 1 race. 

Clint Bowyer had a solid NASCAR career

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Clint Bowyer made his NASCAR debut in 2004 on the Xfinity Series, where he raced a limited schedule. The following year he ran a full schedule, won a couple of races in Nashville and Memphis, and concluded the season with an impressive second-place finish in the points standings.

In 2006, Bowyer competed on both the Xfinity and Cup Series. That rookie Cup season, he earned three top-5 finishes and had a total of 11 top 10s. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind Denny Hamlin.

During the 2007 season, Bowyer established himself as a contender. He won his first career race at New Hampshire, and had 17 top 10s. He impressively finished the season third overall. His best season came in 2012 when he made it to victory lane three times and finished second behind Brad Keselowski.  

After last season, with 226 top 10s and 10 career wins to his credit, Clint Bowyer retired from driving. However, he didn't retire from the sport. He will be calling the Daytona 500 and the rest of the 2021 NASCAR season from the Fox broadcast booth.

Clint Bowyer is a huge Kansas City Chiefs fan

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Hailing from Kansas, Clint Bowyer is a vocal sports fan of all the Kansas City teams, including the Royals and the Chiefs. Last season, Bowyer attended Super Bowl 54 in Miami, where he watched Patrick Mahomes pull off the 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. He even posted a picture on social media after the game with him decked out in his Chiefs shirt and blazer, posing with head coach Andy Reid.

Before the 2020 NFL season started, Bowyer was confident in the Chiefs and told Beyond the Flag that his team would return to the Super Bowl, and whoever they played didn't really matter because it was a losing proposition for that team.

“Who cares? They're gonna be losers, that's who it's gonna be,” Bowyer boldly declared. “Whoever decides to lose a Super Bowl, that's who's gonna play the Chiefs.”

Before Super Bowl 55, Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan and NASCAR driver Aric Almirola invited Bowyer to a little bet on the game, where the fan of the losing team has to wear the winning team's jersey. Bowyer accepted the bet.

Aric Almirola fires shot in victory speech

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On Thursday night, following his victory in Duel 1 at Daytona, Aric Almirola pulled up to the start-finish line and gave a memorable interview, his closing remarks leaving the biggest impression with the parting shot he fired at Clint Bowyer.

“It's been a long time since I got to sit here and do an interview at the start-finish line. Things are going right for Tampa Bay, huh, Clint Bowyer!” Almirola said with a huge smile as he walked away from the camera in a mic drop moment. 

After Almirola's comments, multiple members from the Fox crew jumped in on the fun at Bowyer's expense, including Jeff Gordon, who lost a similar bet last year with Bowyer betting on the 49ers. At the end of all the teasing, Bowyer did acknowledge he will be donning the Buccaneers jersey all day on Friday. 

It will make for an entertaining social media post and discussion topic for Sunday's Daytona 500 broadcast every time Almirola's name comes up.