NASCAR on NBC podcast, Ep. 47: Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer

Two Sprint Cup drivers who are in the midst of their most disappointing seasons joined the NASCAR on NBC podcast to analyze adversity and what lies ahead.

Clint Bowyer, who is 26^th in the points standings, and Greg Biffle, ranked 24^th, were the guests in separate conversations at Kansas Speedway last week.

Biffle, who is four races away from his 500^th consecutive start in the Sprint Cup Series, has taken a leadership role at Roush Fenway Racing, his home since 1998. But while he has been able to help with pit stops, Biffle said there are limits to how much he can help the team improve.

“There are a lot of things I want to change and do different, but it’s tough for the driver to go in and change a bunch of things inside a company and people and realign this and that,” he said. “I’ve been able to make some influences, but I haven’t been able to do all the things I wish I could. I’m not up there on the (management) list and not the competition director. I can only kick and scream so much and push and make an influence where I can.”

Biffle, who missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the second consecutive season, said it’s difficult to watch longtime teammates Carl Edwards andMatt Kenseth excel after joining Joe Gibbs Racing over the last three seasons but said, “I’m the type of person who wants to work hard and bring the whole organization with me to be able to compete at the level you need to (perform.)

“There’s nothing more frustrating than knowing you have the ability but don’t have the equipment,” Biffle said. “That’s been tough the last two to three years. You’ll see guys who moved on and won races and championships that I was doing better than when they were racing with me.”

Though Bowyer’s performance marginally has improved with new crew chief Jay Guy in his one-year stint at HScott Motorsports – his 26^th at Kansas snapped a six-race streak of top-25 finishes – he is looking forward to taking over the No. 14 from Tony Stewart at Stewart-Haas Racing next season.

“There’s a lot of things, talk and excitement, for next year,” said Bowyer, who recently began receiving merchandise approvals for 2017. “You’re already starting to think about those things. You have to; everybody in the garage area is. Whether I was going somewhere else or staying where I’m at, you’re already working toward next year.

“That always gets your wheels cranked up again because you’re thinking, ‘All right, man, we did this wrong. We can do that better next year.’ There’s always those things in the back of your mind, so I can’t wait.”

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BOWYER BACK AT HOME TRACK,EAGERLY AWAITS MOVE TO SHR

MORE: Bowyer brings fan to tears with surprise | SHR to switch to Ford in '17

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The emails are already starting to hit his inbox.

"Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Ford driver, Stewart-Haas Racing," the mocked-up, soon-to-be-sold merchandise reads.

With six remaining races in the 2016 Sprint Cup Series season -- the one in which Bowyer drives the No. 15 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet -- it's hard for the veteran not to look ahead to next year, when he'll replace the retiring Tony Stewart.

"Certainly, it's always natural to start thinking about next year. You better be this time of year no matter if you are moving or staying the same and nothing changes," Bowyer said Friday at Kansas Speedway, site of Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400(2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). 

"That is how far in advance you have to look in this sport and work. All the organizations are lining themselves up and gearing up for next year, all the while, there is a lot of racing left to do in 2016."

It's a trying request for Bowyer not to start licking his chops thinking about his soon-to-be ride when he's struggled with an ill-performing car most of the season and has a mere three top-10 finishes, by far a career low.

ANALYSIS: Bowyer, HScott playing catch up

It doesn't help to stem the anticipation any when he sees his future teammates battling for wins and titles. Last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway is a prime example, according to the 37-year-old Emporia, Kansas native.

"I look over and I see all the Stewart-Haas cars up front, qualified well, Danica (Patrick) was fast, all the cars raced well," he said. "Those are the things that you look at and get excited for next year. But, hey, you've got an opportunity to come back home and race and compete in front of your hometown crowd. Like I said, there is plenty of racing to do and things to accomplish this year. We've got to cap it off well and start to get focused on next year. 

"It is exciting. … An email came across my phone and I look over and its No. 14 merchandise approvals for next year. You are like 'holy cow,' it's becoming reality. It's fixing to pick up in a big way."

There's basically nowhere to go but up in his impending season with SHR, as a tumultuous 2013 campaign with Michael Waltrip Racing set his career on the path of a winless downward spiral in which his performance declined from every measurable aspect -- a year after finishing runner-up to Brad Keselowski for theSprint Cup Series title. Last year’s announcement that he’d replace the three-time champion Stewart at season’s end was the first good news he’d had to share publicly since the birth of his son, Cash.

RELATED: Baby No. 2 on the way for Bowyer

Apart from the increase in performance he can expect from an organization that took home the 2014 title with driver Kevin Harvick, that has five wins this season and put three drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, SHR offers Bowyer a welcoming environment in which he's already comfortable with their top-tiered talent, many of which are longtime friends of his.

"Just a great outfit over there, everybody from the top to the bottom; the teammates, I've worked with Kevin (Harvick) for many years. I'm looking forward to Kurt (Busch). Kurt is the one that I've never really known a lot about. Always raced against him, but never worked with him in any way, shape or form. Danica, I'm closer to her than probably some of the others, so I'm just looking forward to it. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be a neat atmosphere and something that 10 years into this thing one of the best opportunities ever is at your doorstep and fixing to happen.

" … Just looking forward to being in a situation where you can go out and know that if the equipment is there that you will have a good weekend. That is all you can ask for as a race car driver.”

While it's likely that Bowyer will have to wait until next year to finally win a Sprint Cup race at his home track, he knows that there were valuable lessons he'll take away from a frustrating season.

"I think I've learned a lot from the racing on the race track and I’ve learned a lot about myself (this year)," he said. "This isn't easy and I think hopefully we can get back in (the media center) and there are going to be these seats filled again.

"And I've got a beer in my hand because the trophy is sitting right there, right? That is what we do this for."