NASCAR Preview: Why Alex Bowman May Be the Dark Horse Heading Into COTA

The upcoming Cup Series race at the Circuit of the Americas will present a different type of challenge for drivers. The 3.41-mile road course is the longest in NASCAR and the most technical. Few drivers have managed to figure the track out and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman is one among them.

Bowman has an average finish rate of 4.3 at COTA, the second-highest among the drivers who’ve driven in all three races at the venue. Only Ross Chastain stands above him with a finish rate of 3.0 and a win to his name (2022). Though Bowman hasn’t won the course yet, he has proven to be an expert at handling its 20 corners.

He has scored the third-most points (114) on this track and had an average running position of 8.97 in 2022 and 7.25 in 2023. With numbers like this, it’s easy to see why he considers COTA to be his favorite track of them all. “It is such a mix between the different types of corners throughout the track. We run really well there,” he told Hendrickmotorsports.com.

The 68 laps that are coming up will test the all-around abilities of drivers. While many would be wary of such a challenge, Bowman doesn’t have reason to be scared. He continued, “It is a unique place for us and has many different aspects. You have to be pretty versatile and it has always kind of fit me.”

Bowman has been quite underrated when it comes to judging drivers on road courses. He has secured 5 top-five finishes and 12 top-ten finishes in the 30 starts that he has made on road courses. His best finishes thus far have been second places in COTA (2022) and the Charlotte Roval (2019).

How Bowman capitalized on Bristol issues to secure a top-five finish on Sunday

Bowman began the Bristol race from 29th place in his #48 Chevy Camaro. At the end of the 500 laps, he finished in fourth place and posted his best result at the “Last Great Colosseum”. Talking to the press in the aftermath he mentioned that his team had forecasted the heavy tire wear during practice.

He told NASCAR, “I think we all saw it coming in practice, somewhat. I don’t think we thought it would be that bad. I thought the race track would lay a little bit of rubber and kind of move to the top, but I mean, we knew in practice, like 35 laps, tires were on cords, so try to make the most of it there.”

With Bowman then managing his tires well on the track, his crew chief Blake Harris executed good pit strategies to bring the #48 car home with a great result.