Among the Hendrick Motorsports quartet, Alex Bowman stands alone outside the top five, currently ranked 12th in the driver standings. While his season has featured flashes of pace, he has clearly trailed his teammates in performance. Yet, based on his recent remarks, Bowman remains optimistic about the course of his No. 48 team heading into the heart of the schedule.
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Appearing on the latest episode of Chasing Checkers with Chase McCabe, Bowman acknowledged coming close to victory this year, though the cards haven’t fallen his way. He cited Homestead as a prime example, where he was just laps away from a win while emphasizing the consistent speed his team has brought to the track each week.
“I feel like our fastest race cars have all been on weeks that we haven’t finished the races, unfortunately, for a pretty big variety of different reasons at this point. But we’re continuing to plug away at it. And I feel like we’re right there,” Bowman said. Aware that the box score doesn’t always reflect the full picture, he insisted the performance level of his team has far exceeded what the stat sheets suggest.
He stressed that the No. 48 crew has executed well on numerous occasions, but the results simply haven’t followed. “I think we’re in a pretty good spot,” he said, reinforcing his belief in the team’s foundation and future prospects.
Still, the numbers tell a tougher story. After starting ninth at Charlotte, Bowman faded to 29th following a costly spin in Stage 1 on Lap 97. The slump extended to Nashville, where he lost control in Turn 3 on Lap 114, sending his car into Noah Gragson’s. Both cars slammed the wall, prematurely ending their race in the Cracker Barrel 400.
Over the last seven events, Bowman’s performance has nosedived. At Texas, he was caught in a multi-car wreck on Lap 172 just as the final stage began, relegating him to 35th. At Bristol, an engine failure forced him out early. Outside of a top-five at Kansas and a top-10 at Talladega, good finishes have been scarce for him.
His best outing this season came at Homestead, where he went toe-to-toe with Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson in the closing laps. Bowman held his ground until Larson pulled away with seven laps to go, capturing the win in the Straight Talk Wireless 400.
Alex Bowman is looking forward to Mexico
The upcoming stretch features races at Michigan, Mexico, Pocono, and Atlanta. While Bowman admitted he’s not one to scan too far down the schedule, he believes several tracks ahead have historically suited both him and the No. 48 team.
“I think Mexico can be really good for us, too. I feel like the new places we tend to run pretty well at. Our road course program has been really good. So, I’m excited about getting down there, experiencing that,” he said. The Hendrick Motorsports driver also pointed to Michigan and Chicago as tracks he’s particularly eager to tackle.
Bowman sees the summer slate as packed with opportunities, circling multiple tracks where he expects to contend. Though he holds reservations about New Hampshire, he feels his team has made strides at nearly every venue where they’ve struggled in the past.
