Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman had an eventful race at Kansas on Sunday. He finished in fifth place after an early accident left him fearing a DNF. Despite the near wreck and the disappointment of not pulling through to secure a win, he thought after the race that the outing, in its entirety, was not boring by any means.
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His teammate, Kyle Larson, led 221 of 267 laps and won the day. When the No. 5 driver displays this kind of dominance, the fandom typically complains about how boring NASCAR has become. But Bowman wasn’t willing to stand by and watch such accusations this time around. He explained his thoughts about the entertainment factor of the race while on pit road.
He said, “I thought the battle for the lead on restarts was pretty wild. The No. 5 was really, really good… But no, I thought the racing was the same as it has been at Kansas. We didn’t get a late caution. So, you didn’t get a crazy finish. Hopefully, that doesn’t turn it into a bad race.”
.@Alex_Bowman talks about finishing fifth despite battling an ill handling car after incident and why he likes Kansas so much pic.twitter.com/MJi8goirp3
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) May 11, 2025
Veteran reporter Jeff Gluck conducts a poll on X every week, asking fans if the race on Sunday was a good one. Kansas is considered to be one of the tracks where the Next Gen car is at its finest. Bowman expressed hope to see fans align with his thoughts and deliver a positive verdict.
The multiple reasons that Bowman had to be frustrated
Starting the race from 21st place, the No. 48 driver marched into the top-10 early. Just when he began displaying serious speed, Zane Smith unraveled his momentum by pushing him into the wall at the backstretch. The damage that the Camaro sustained led Bowman to doubt for a moment that his day was done.
He said that the contact knocked his tow terribly and that his steering wheel had moved a lot beyond his control. He further explained that his frustration was more due to how good he had been driving before the damage. Fortunately, more laps on the track proved that his day was far from over.
He raced in the top-10 for most of the 267 laps and climbed as high as third place towards the end of the race. Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe finally overtook him, forcing him to settle for fifth place. It was his second top-five and seventh top-10 finish of the season. Bowman currently sits eighth on the points table.