Alex Bowman is the only Hendrick Motorsports driver that never escapes “silly season” without his return to the organization being questioned, but the Arizona native says he still doesn’t feel like he is racing for his job.
“I don’t go on the internet, so I don’t get wound up about things,” Bowman said. “I hear about it from other people. Blake (Harris, crew chief) spends too much time on the Internet, but on my side of things, I’ve kind of avoided the rumors and… just been trying to do my job.
“We’ve had a lot of different conversations, and kind of trying to figure out what the best thing to do is. I think sooner rather than later (I’d like to have something settled for next year). I just want to make the right decision for myself.”
Bowman’s return to Hendrick Motorsports is questioned each contract year for two reasons: The health issues he’s had during three of the last five years, and he’s had two victories during that same time frame. In 2022, Bowman missed five races after suffering a concussion at Texas Motor Speedway. The following year, the 33-year-old driver missed three races due to a broken back that he suffered in a Sprint Car crash. This year, Bowman missed four races due to vertigo that developed during the season’s third race at Circuit of the Americas.
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Alex Bowman driving at Sonoma last weekend.
“Certain things haven’t gone how we want them to go,” Bowman admitted. “I’m at a point in my life where I’m super blessed to be in a position where I don’t have to do this forever. I’ve got to make the right decision, and I want Hendrick Motorsports to make the right decision and everybody to be on board with whatever we do. Whatever happens, happens.”
Bowman admits his team has struggled since his return at Bristol, producing only two top-five and three top-10 finishes in the last 11 races. He said places where they historically performed well, such as Bristol, Kansas and Dover, they didn’t, and tracks where they have struggled, such as Texas and Sonoma, they produced top 10s.
“It’s been really confusing,” Bowman said. “Nothing went our way for the last two months. I think our finishes are certainly worse than they should be. I think we’ve had better cars, and we’ve been running better than we’ve finished at a lot of these places.
“I think globally, as a company, we’re a little off of where we want to be, so just trying to get pointed in the right direction.”