Alex Bowman will not be back with Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2016.
Bowman, who drove Baldwin’s No. 7 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2015, has parted ways with the team effective immediately, per a press release from the team.
“As NASCAR transitions to different business and competition models, teams have to make decisions accordingly,” team owner Tommy Baldwin said in a press statement. “We appreciate what Alex contributed during 2015 and wish him the best in the future.”
On his Twitter account, Bowman referenced the news by tweeting, “Just want to thank everybody [at] @TBR_Racing. Looking forward to focusing on winning races for @JRMotorsports @TeamHendrick & @TeamChevy.” Currently, Bowman is scheduled to run nine races for JR Motorsports’ No. 88 in the XFINITY Series, beginning at Dover in May.
https://twitter.com/AlexBRacing/status/690241945042554880
A replacement driver for the No. 7 has not been announced. Earlier in the offseason, the team announced a sponsorship deal with Toy State for 13 races in 2016 and 17 races in 2017, as well as multiple personnel additions. Bowman himself was announced as the team’s 2016 driver last July.
After failing to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500 last season, Bowman competed in the final 35 races for Baldwin with an average finish of 31.6 and a final points position of 33rd.
Tommy Baldwin Racing began its Sprint Cup operation in 2009 with Scott Riggs as driver. The team has scored one top 5 and two top 10s.
Rutherford is the managing editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2015 after serving on the editing staff for two years. At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.