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Kansas native Clint Bowyer still finds fans at home after Richmond incident shook up NASCAR

Associated Press
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Driver Clint Bowyer sits in his car during practice for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Friday, Oct. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) (The Associated Press)

Driver Clint Bowyer exhales following practice for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Friday, Oct. 4, 2013. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) (The Associated Press)

To some, Clint Bowyer has become a pariah. To those in Kansas, he's still one of their own.

The native of Emporia, Kan., insists his spin at Richmond that set off a chain of events that rattled NASCAR to its core was unintentional. NASCAR failed to prove that Bowyer was attempting to manipulate the finish to get teammate Martin Truex Jr. into the Chase for the championship.

But the fallout from Richmond still resulted in harsh sanctions against his Michael Waltrip Racing organization that included knocking Truex out of the Chase.

In the eyes of some, the whole situation turned Bowyer from one of the most popular drivers in the series to one worthy of contempt. Not at Kansas, though, where he's still as popular as ever.