BRISTOL, Tenn. – In the final laps of Saturday night’s (Sept. 13) Bristol Motor Speedway night race, Alex Bowman was among the favorites to win.
On a night where fresh tires were more valuable than gold, Bowman had the hot ticket and was slicing his way through the NASCAR Cup Series field. By looking at him, you wouldn’t have known he had been spun, went a lap down and sat as far below as 27 points under the playoff cut line.
Yet there he was, in second place and about to pass the leader and punch his way into the Round of 12.
If it weren’t for a final caution with 12 laps to go, Bowman would very likely have been holding a brand-new sword and on his way to the next playoff round. However, it was at least a positive night.
“I think just kind of getting back on the right foot a little bit and not finishing 35th is a step in the right direction,” Bowman told reporters post-race. “A top 10 with stage points is a solid day.”
Bowman’s night started anything but solid.
It was lap 101 and only the second caution of the race when the No. 48 spun around and flat-spotted his tires.
By the end of stage one, Bowman was running in 27th and a lap down as a result. After he missed earning stage points in the first segment, he had a very slim chance of pointing his way into the Round of 12 without winning.
However, after taking a wave-around and returning to the lead lap, the No. 48 team had used a fresh tire advantage to propel the Arizonian to sixth in only 40 laps, saving his race.
By the end of the second stage, the Ally Chevrolet was third and scored a much-needed seven points.
“I thought our car, when we had some green flag running, was really good,” Bowman said. “It just cycled really poorly. I’d drive off into turn 1 and just hope to make the corner. For whatever reason, it just wouldn’t take off, and then after five laps or so it would go again.”
And that’s where he stayed. The Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet hovered in the top five for the second half of the event but didn’t quite contend for the win like he needed to keep his playoff run alive.
Bowman nearly caught a break in the closing laps when a fire for Austin Cindric, the driver right above the cutline, forced the Team Penske driver to pit road.
Unfortunately for Bowman, the No. 2 was able to rejoin the track quickly and only went five laps down.
“We were pitted. The guys were ready,” Cindric recalled. “It was really well executed for something that tragic.
“I think everyone was pretty well prepared with the transfer of [points] information once I got back on track. With a with a scuff right front tire, old as hell, left side tires and an old right rear tire, I got a handle on the car and got all the fire extinguisher stuff burned off the tires”
After Cindric’s late issue, Bowman suddenly found himself just three points behind the Talladega Superspeedway winner on the cutline with less than 45 laps to go.
Even better, crew chief Blake Harris had put him on a strategy that gave him fresher tires than most of the top five. With only 30 laps to go, the No. 48 was in second behind leader Carson Hocevar and gaining. Both drivers pitted one more time under green for their last set of Goodyear Eagles.
“I ran really hard when we pitted with like 26 to go or whatever and obviously chewed those tires,” Bowman lamented.
Alas, the final caution forced the HMS Chevrolet to restart on older tires than some of those around him. Bowman could only hold onto an eighth-place finish.
“The last restart was ugly,” Bowman commented. “But yeah, good Ally Camaro compared to yesterday made some gains on it. Still have some gains we need to make in the final races.”
While the No. 48 didn’t qualify for the Round of 12, Bowman still has a positive outlook for the rest of 2025, feeling confident that he can improve his standings in the series’ points.
“Just got to keep digging, right?” Bowman said. “There’s a lot of points we can still score. We can still finish way better than wherever we’re at in points right now.”
Bowman will enter New Hampshire Motor Speedway weekend sitting 13th in the standings.
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loud column, co-host of the Frontstretch Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT