The 2012 season marked a new beginning for Bowyer as he moved from Richard Childress Racing to Michael Waltrip Racing, signing a 3-year deal.
Improvements at Michael Waltrip Racing with the addition of former RCR director of competition Scott Miller and veteran driver Mark Martin as a teammate translated into Bowyer's best season statistically in the Sprint Cup Series.

Bowyer's 2012 season began sour, as his Daytona 500 qualifying time was disallowed, and he also ran out of fuel under green when he missed pit road during the 500.
In March, he ended up starting a year-long rivalry with Jeff Gordon at the Martinsville race.
Gordon's team, Hendrick Motorsports, was going for their 200th victory at the team's statistically best track.
On a late green-white-checkered restart with 2 laps to go, Gordon was running first with Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson in second and Bowyer third.
Bowyer dove to the low side and made it three wide going into turn one, sending all three spinning around and giving the win to Ryan Newman.
Bowyer apologized for the contact but later incidents at other 2012 races led to a heated rivalry.

In June, at the Toyota/Save Mart 350at Sonoma, California, Bowyer dominated the race, scoring his first road course victory as well as his first MWR win by holding off Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.
At the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta, Bowyer suffered battery issues but still managed to clinch a Chase berth with a 27th-place finish.
He rebounded the following week at the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond, winning the race using fuel strategy despite being spun by Juan Pablo Montoya mid-race.

Bowyer's two wins positioned him sixth at the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
In the Chase, he won at Charlotte after Brad Keselowski made a late-race pit stop.

Coming to the white flag at the AdvoCare 500 (Phoenix) on November 11, 2012, Bowyer's rivalry with Jeff Gordon came to a head.
Earlier in the race, Bowyer accidentally put Gordon into the wall.
Gordon was then black-flagged for a failed attempt to cut Bowyer's tire.
On the next-to-last lap, Gordon decided enough was enough and responded by intentionally wrecking Bowyer in turn three, collecting Joey Logano and Aric Almirola.
After Gordon's car was parked behind his team's hauler, a member of Bowyer's team shoved Gordon from behind and both teams scuffled.
After Bowyer entered the pit area with his damaged car and noticed his team was not in his pit stall, he sprinted towards Gordon's hauler attempting to enter it before being restrained by a single NASCAR official.
The incident knocked Boyer down to fourth place in the points standings and mathematically ended Bowyer's chance of winning the Championship.
Bowyer was not penalized for his involvement in the fight, but his crew chief Brian Pattie was fined $35,000 after he expressed his displeasure with Gordon by using profanity on national television, forcing ESPN  to apologize to viewers.

The following week, Bowyer rebounded, and finished second at Homestead (ironically behind Gordon) and completed the season with a career best second-place finish in the final points, passing Jimmie Johnson by one point, who was eliminated with a drive train malfunction.
In victory lane at the race, Jeff Gordon apologized for his behavior at Phoenix and moved on from the incident.
The 2012 season marked a new beginning for Bowyer as he moved from Richard Childress Racing to Michael Waltrip Racing, signing a 3-year deal. Improvements at Michael Waltrip Racing with the addition of former RCR director of competition Scott Miller and veteran driver Mark Martin as a teammate translated into Bowyer's best season statistically in the Sprint Cup Series.
Bowyer's 2012 season began sour, as his Daytona 500 qualifying time was disallowed, and he also ran out of fuel under green when he missed pit road during the 500. In March, he ended up starting a year-long rivalry with Jeff Gordon at the Martinsville race. Gordon's team, Hendrick Motorsports, was going for their 200th victory at the team's statistically best track. On a late green-white-checkered restart with 2 laps to go, Gordon was running first with Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson in second and Bowyer third. Bowyer dove to the low side and made it three wide going into turn one, sending all three spinning around and giving the win to Ryan Newman. Bowyer apologized for the contact but later incidents at other 2012 races led to a heated rivalry.
In June, at the Toyota/Save Mart 350at Sonoma, California, Bowyer dominated the race, scoring his first road course victory as well as his first MWR win by holding off Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. At the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta, Bowyer suffered battery issues but still managed to clinch a Chase berth with a 27th-place finish. He rebounded the following week at the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond, winning the race using fuel strategy despite being spun by Juan Pablo Montoya mid-race.
Bowyer's two wins positioned him sixth at the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. In the Chase, he won at Charlotte after Brad Keselowski made a late-race pit stop.
Coming to the white flag at the AdvoCare 500 (Phoenix) on November 11, 2012, Bowyer's rivalry with Jeff Gordon came to a head. Earlier in the race, Bowyer accidentally put Gordon into the wall. Gordon was then black-flagged for a failed attempt to cut Bowyer's tire. On the next-to-last lap, Gordon decided enough was enough and responded by intentionally wrecking Bowyer in turn three, collecting Joey Logano and Aric Almirola. After Gordon's car was parked behind his team's hauler, a member of Bowyer's team shoved Gordon from behind and both teams scuffled. After Bowyer entered the pit area with his damaged car and noticed his team was not in his pit stall, he sprinted towards Gordon's hauler attempting to enter it before being restrained by a single NASCAR official. The incident knocked Boyer down to fourth place in the points standings and mathematically ended Bowyer's chance of winning the Championship. Bowyer was not penalized for his involvement in the fight, but his crew chief Brian Pattie was fined $35,000 after he expressed his displeasure with Gordon by using profanity on national television, forcing ESPN  to apologize to viewers.
The following week, Bowyer rebounded, and finished second at Homestead (ironically behind Gordon) and completed the season with a career best second-place finish in the final points, passing Jimmie Johnson by one point, who was eliminated with a drive train malfunction. In victory lane at the race, Jeff Gordon apologized for his behavior at Phoenix and moved on from the incident.
Clint Bowyer