NASCAR Drivers On The Hot Seat In 2017; Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick Maybe On The Short List

Feb 18, 2017 10:42 AM EST | Mark Navarro

Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick have not won a major race since 2012 which could lead for the two NASCAR drivers to be on the hot seat this 2017. Bowyer last won on Oct. 13, 2012, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway while Danica Patrick has not won a single race out of her 154 races. 

According to NBCSports, the 2017 season is a very pivotal year for several drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. A few notable drivers who is likely to have a lot of attention on how they fare out are Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick. 

NASCAR on NBC analyst and former driver Jeff Burton, a former driver and an analyst on NBC,  places both Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick as drivers to be on the hot seat this upcoming 2017. Furthermore, FoxSports writes Five Drivers on the Hot Seat for 2017 which also includes Patrick and Bowyer.

Danica Patrick makes the list because of the point of view of her fans. Danica Patrick is greatly known as the female driver of NASCAR and with her commercials during the previous SuperBowl.  Patrick will begin her fifth full-time season in NASCAR 2017 and since then, her four seasons progresses to be marginal at its best. Her finishes have been rising every season with a handful of top-10 finishes and a few top-five but she still remains inconsistent.

Clint Bowyer. Bowyer, on the other hand, has not won a race since 2012 when he won three times with MWR. Bowyer has not been in quality equipment since 2012 and 2013 as it was the end of MWR and also 2016 where it failed with HScott Motorsports.  2017 would be a 'setting the tone' year as SHR would make transitions as they move from Chevy to Ford and could be a positive or negative result for Bowyer.

Bowyer and Patrick would remain on the hot seat, especially in 2017 as their names have floated around the topic quite some time. It still remains to be seen if this continues until how they fare off in the upcoming races, events and til the changing of the year on the calendar. 

In the NFL, hot seats placed on the coaches occurs right away as the coaches usually get fired at any time of the season. Hot seats in NASCAR are placed on an individual longer until a change has occurred. 

NASCAR hot seat is fueled by factors such as an expiring contract, not living with the expectations brought upon them, or the hype builds around them. Another way of being on the hot seat is when a driver such as Danica Patrick and Clint Bowyer wins a race and becomes successful than could not become consistent, causing the once high bar made by a driver become unreachable.

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