During the NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas on March 1, 2026, air temperatures in Austin climbed into the mid-80s, ranging from 81 to 85 degrees. Track temperatures reached 109 degrees at the start. The heat, combined with a string of cool suit failures, turned cockpits into pressure cookers and left several drivers running on fumes, with Alex Bowman’s run ending prematurely.
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Kyle Larson, AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Preece, and Bowman each reported feeling unwell during the event. But Bowman could not withstand it like the others and exited the No. 48 car. He was transported to the infield care center, prompting Myatt Snider to climb in for the closing laps. Snider had been at the track serving as a media spotter.
The swap, however, was not that easy. It took roughly 15 minutes for NASCAR to approve Hendrick Motorsports‘ request to place Snider in the car.
Driver approval often follows a longer path, but with Bowman sidelined mid-race, the clock was ticking. Snider held a license to compete in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2026, opening the door for Cup consideration.
His history includes 11 starts and a win in the ARCA Menards Series, along with 13 starts in 2019 in the NASCAR Euro Series, which runs on road courses. NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde addressed the decision on the Hauler Talk podcast. He noted that some Cup rookies have debuted without testing in the Next Gen car and said Snider’s lack of seat time did not stand in the way.
The type of track carried big weight in the call. Forde said, “If this was anywhere but COTA or Martinsville or maybe even Phoenix, he probably would not be qualified to run. If this was Darlington or Homestead, certainly Daytona or Talladega, we would probably would have had to tell Hendrick Motorsports that they needed to find someone else.”
Snider is now cleared to compete on road courses and short tracks in the Cup Series. Forde explained that NASCAR’s approval ladder often begins with road courses, followed by short tracks, intermediates, and superspeedways, with each step raising the bar. And since the incident happened at COTA, with Bowman not being well, they had to make a quick decision.
Meanwhile, HMS’s other driver, Larson, managed to see the checkered flag by leaning on the liquids inside his car. Allmendinger’s situation came at the front in plain view on the FOX broadcast, where he was placed on a gurney and moved from pit road to the care center after his cooling system failed and pumped hot air into the cockpit.
