Perhaps cosmic payback is indeed a thing.
It might help explain why Clint Bowyer is 32nd in the Cup standings, just seven points ahead of Michael McDowell.
Bowyer is right in the middle of a race to irrelevance, and that's not a good thing. Bowyer is not only one of the funniest guys in the business but also a darn good driver. He has finished in the Top 10 four times during his 12-year Cup career, including a career-best second in 2012. And then there's 2013 in Richmond, where that cosmic turn likely took place.
Bowyer spun with seven laps remaining, helping his-then Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. secure the final spot in the Chase.
"I bet it's getting hot in there. Itch it," Brian Pattie, Bowyer's crew chief, said over radio communication moments before the incident.
It was a bogus ploy in the eyes of NASCAR (and anyone with deductive reasoning who could read the intent of those code words). NASCAR booted Truex Jr. out of the Chase and docked Bowyer 50 points (although he still qualified for the Chase).
Since then, MWR has disbanded, leaving Bowyer to fend for himself as a one-man show with HScott Motorsports. It doesn't have the means or resources to stay competitive, leaving Bowyer on an island against the big boys on the circuit.
"I'm pretty miserable right now and I don't aim to be that way for a year," Bowyer told Kickin' the Tires and Motorsport.com last week. "Here's the thing, in the situation you're in, yes, you want to rip the leather off the steering wheel and get mad and everything else but it doesn't do any good.
"And you know these guys are working their asses off to get you to where you are even at. It's just they don't have the tools that these other teams have."
If only it were this season. Since the 2013 season, when he finished seventh, Bowyer has ranked 19th and 16th in the points standings. This season is more humbling than ever.
But as Bowyer pushes on, he knows one thing is certain:
It will get better. Or well should, anyway. He will take Tony Stewart's ride at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2017 after Stewart retires. It's a big bump up to a super team that has seen mixed results.
Great: Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch. Not so great: Danica Patrick and Stewart.
"We are definitely behind a lot farther than I was ready for but, you know, a year is a long time and I know what my future holds," Bowyer said. "That's the positive that keeps me going but I won't rest at night until I know that Harry Scott is where they need to be when I get out of the seat."
Bowyer is owning up to his responsibilities. He's no slacker. He is also a fine wheelman. But for things to run smoothly, the mix of man and machine have to work. It's not likely ever to happen at HScott Motorsports.
Maybe this has everything to do with what happened at Richmond. Or maybe nothing at all.
Regardless, Clint Bowyer is now a backpacker, and it just seems so wrong.
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