It took Alex Bowman over two years and 80 starts to win his eighth NASCAR Cup Series race. That’s a long winless run for someone associated with a powerhouse team like Hendrick Motorsports. During this time, there have been rumors circulating about the team wanting to replace the #48 driver. NASCAR is a results-based business and HMS demands victories from each of its drivers.
Advertisement
In a media interaction after the Chicago Street race, the 31-year-old said that the HMS driver never focused on the noise going on outside. Inside the shop, efforts were being made to help the #48 team as much as possible. They reaped the rewards of those efforts on Sunday as the team confirmed its full lineup in the playoffs.
Eight wins. Eight different tracks.@Alex_Bowman can do it everywhere. pic.twitter.com/o0IIkd5atm
— NASCAR Classics (@NASCARClassics) July 8, 2024
“Certainly nobody has made me feel like I’m on the hot seat,” Bowman said as per Speedway Digest. “There’s never been a single conversation with a single person that has questioned anything to do with that at all.”
Gordon is hopeful of rumors dying down
The team’s vice-chairman Jeff Gordon understands the rumors. HMS is the winningest organization in NASCAR history, hence it’s understandable why rumors of Bowman’s replacement would be floating around. For one of its drivers to not win a race in over two years doesn’t paint the correct picture following the team’s reputation. Meanwhile, Gordon hopes that the win at the Chicago Street Race will do away with these rumors for the time being.
“When you’re at Hendrick Motorsports, you do expect, especially when the other three have won, to be in that same category, and it hasn’t been happening. Hopefully, this dispels a lot of the rumors,” he said.
With a win under his belt and a confirmed spot in the playoffs, Bowman will have a lot of confidence moving forward. It will be interesting to see how the #48 driver performs in the remaining regular season races.
