Alex Bowman currently finds himself in a spot that no driver wants to be in. He sat out the race in Las Vegas on Sunday, making it the second consecutive Cup Series race he has been forced to miss. Hendrick Motorsports revealed that he has been dealing with vertigo, and rumors now suggest he could make a return in Darlington.
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Bowman’s health took a turn for the worse after the brutal race at the Circuit of the Americas. The team announced that he was working actively to overcome his condition and recover, which forced him to miss Phoenix and Las Vegas. Simulation driver Anthony Alfredo filled in for him at the Arizona track. He was expected to recover ahead of the race in Las Vegas and return to the No. 48 Chevy Camaro, but that did not happen.
Justin Allgaier was announced as his replacement in Nevada, and the JR Motorsports regular piloted the car to a disappointing 25th place finish. He spoke to the press in the aftermath and detailed how Bowman’s recovery was going.
Addressing rumors of Bowman returning, he said, “To get into the car. That’s our goal, right? At the end of the day. My hope is that he is ready for Darlington. I don’t know what it looks like. Alex is probably going to be the only one who knows that. He is extremely tough and resilient. Probably battled stuff we didn’t even know about.”
“Really disappointed in myself [with the] speeding on pit road” @J_Allgaier disappointed in his 25th place finish at Vegas.
He also speaks about the circumstances of driving this weekend.
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The biggest priority for both Allgaier and team owner Rick Hendrick is for Bowman to return to full health. Allgaier noted that the driver has been working harder than anyone has ever seen before. All that remains now is to wait and see what the results of that effort will be. Bowman will certainly be eager to be ready in time for the race at Darlington.
Bowman will need to step up his game whenever he returns
In the three races he participated in this season, Bowman finished 40th, 23rd, and 36th. These aren’t results worthy of a Hendrick Motorsports driver. He sits 36th on the points table, a massive 232 points behind the points leader. Overcoming this deficit is next to impossible. At this point, even making it to the Chase appears to be a tough task.
Denny Hamlin held the same opinion when speaking on Actions Detrimental. He said, “I think if you took his median performance over the regular season, you would say that it’s over. If he comes back and runs better than his averages, I think he could make it, which means you’ve got to get a lot of stage points.”
“He’s going to need to probably win a race,” he added. “Then I think he has a shot. A lot of points can be made up. You can’t just finish good. He’s going to have to run good and finish good, and there is a difference.” Bowman will need to come back and perform with extremely high consistency to be in contention for the title when the regular season ends.
If he is not, his seat could be at real risk.
