HAMPTON, Ga. — Alex Bowman‘s fifth place at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday evening (Sept. 8) not only helped his playoff run, but it also may help squash rumors and put out smoke regarding his status for next year.
At media day for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs on Wednesday (Sept. 4), most of the drivers were asked questions pertaining the playoffs, naturally.
But Bowman’s were mostly about his status as driver of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48, with rumors recently popping up that he could be out of the car if he has a quick exit from the playoffs.
Bowman shot down the rumors at media day.
“My contract is through the end of 2026, and all I can tell you is what my bosses have told me,” Bowman said. “And that’s that there are no plans to change anything. Rumors are just rumors.”
Bowman said it got to a point where he started calling people, including Hendrick Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon, to see if he was back in the No. 48 next year.
“Everybody said ‘Absolutely not,’” Bowman said. “So that’s really all I have to go on. I don’t have a reason to believe anything other than that. There’s no ‘Oh, you need to do this to keep your job.’ It’s absolutely not [the case]. Everything is fine.’
Regardless of if the rumors are true or not, the top five in the Quaker State 400 certainly helps silence the talk as well as further his playoff runs. The result was his first top 15 since Pocono Raceway in July.
“Obviously, a really good points day and a great day for our Ally Chevy, but I certainly want a whole lot more than that,” Bowman said.
Bowman started the race in 11th but quickly worked his way up to third, where he finished the first two stages. His 16 stage points were the second most scored on Sunday.
But the Arizona native made the wrong call by choosing the bottom on a late restart and got shuffled outside of the top 10.
“I’m honestly mad at myself for making some bad moves there with seven to go or whatever, restarting 13th there, two restarts from the end,” Bowman said. “Just kind of took us away from fighting for the win, which I felt like we had a car capable of.”
Bowman said he had to be extra aggressive on the last two restarts just to work his way back to fifth at the checkered flag in overtime.
“My car drove really well,” Bowman said. “So I feel like I’ve really struggled with handling a lot down here [in Atlanta]. Today is by far the best racecar I’ve ever had here.
“I’ve had really fast cars here that I’ve crashed all by myself because they were a handful. Had a piece that drove really well, and obviously, we ran up front all day with it.”
Bowman entered Atlanta tied for 12th on the playoff cut line. He leaves the first race of the Round of 16 sixth in points, 27 points over the cut line.
“Definitely this time of the year, that stuff is really important, but just felt like we had a car that was capable of going for the win and didn’t give myself the best shot to do that,” Bowman said. “Frustrated with that, but yeah, really good points day.”
When asked what this finish did for the Silly Season rumors, Bowman said, “It’s more about trying to make a deep playoff run than anything.”
About the author
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020. Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.
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If Hendrick decides to ship Bowman off to Spire, who would they put in the 48 car instead? Zane Smith?