The Hartford No. 33 driver Clint Bowyer and Tom Westman, current Hartford employee and former winner of the CBS reality TV series, "Survivor," Friday during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race qualifying at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Westman will serve as an honorary pit crew member of Bowyer's Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team for Sunday's race. Credit: HHP/Harold Hinson

By: Toby Christie

With just six races remaining until ‘The Chase’ begins, Clint Bowyer sits in the coveted 12th spot in points.

This week in Pocono the team, and their sponsor The Hartford will bring in an outside source to inspire the team to survive the race to the chase. That man is former FDNY lieutenant and the winner of the CBS reality show Survivor: Paulo, Tom Westman.

He will be an honorary member of the pit crew, and he’ll giving the team tips all weekend about how to survive when the going gets tough, and I don’t think we can argue that after qualifying on Friday the team will need all the tips they can get.

Bowyer of course had a pole-winning run going until he got loose, and as a result he will start from the 40th position.

However considering that Bowyer finished third in this exact race last season, and the fact that he has Westman in his corner, it wouldn’t be unfathomable to see the No. 33 car cut through the field on Sunday.

Westman, 46, is currently an account executive for The Hartford, which has been an associate sponsor for Clint Bowyer and his RCR teammate Jeff Burton all season long. This week The Hartford has it’s colors on the No. 33 Chevrolet as the primary sponsor and will do so once more this season at Auto Club Speedway.

If you remember the piece I also wrote about the program the Hartford had back at Texas Motor Speedway, you know that this company loves to give back to people.

Well at Pocono Westman is rooting on five individuals who were named as finalists in The Hartford 200, which is a program that celebrates America’s personal stories from the road.

“It’s a great time to be an employee of The Hartford, the company just celebrated its 200th  anniversary,” said Westman. “I am thrilled to be here today with The Hartford cheering on our team and the finalists in The Hartford 200 program. I know what it is like to depend on votes to win, so I want to encourage fans to support these finalists.”

If you go to www.TheHartford200.com between now and August 13th, you can actually participate by voting for your favorite story. The person who wins the contest will win an incredible grand prize that includes a new Chevy Equinox, a hometown visit from Bowyer, a VIP race experience and being celebrated in a special print advertisement in their hometown.