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Alex Bowman has announced his return to the No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet.
Alex Bowman heads into this weekend’s elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway in a tough spot, and that’s putting it lightly. Two back-to-back pit stop disasters have thrown his playoff run into danger, and now he’s 35 points below the cutline.
According to Cameron Richardson of NASCAR.com, “A disastrous 40-second pit stop at Darlington Raceway and another slow stop last Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway have set back Bowman entering Saturday’s first-round elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) and now faces a virtual must-win situation down 35 points to the cutline.”
Costly Pit Stops Force Major Crew Changes
The ripple effect of those slow stops has been immediate and massive. Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) made the call to overhaul Bowman’s pit crew heading into Bristol. Several members were moved to other teams, and new crew members have been shuffled in to try to give the No. 48 team a fighting chance.
Alex Bowman admitted he wasn’t deeply involved in the decision-making. “I wasn’t super involved in it, had some conversations, but not super deeply involved in it,” he said Friday at Bristol. “Those guys have been super fast at points throughout this year, and they’re all really great athletes and do a good job. We’ve just had a bad two weeks at a time that we can’t have a bad two weeks.”
For Bowman, it’s not about blaming individuals, it’s about execution. A 40-second stop at Darlington derailed a solid run. The Gateway mishap piled on the pressure. Now, with the playoff clock ticking, the team had to act quickly to stop the bleeding.
Bowman called the past two weeks “embarrassing,” adding, “We had a really good summer, and the switch turned off for us, for sure. It’s kind of mortifying how bad we’ve been. It’s not from a lack of effort, like everybody’s working so hard at HMS, and our whole team is. We’ve just not put days together like we need to.”
Bristol Becomes a Must-Win Moment for Alex Bowman
With his playoff hopes fading, Alex Bowman knows there’s no room for caution now. Sitting 35 points back means points racing isn’t an option, only a win can save his season.
“It’s really not that different what we normally would,” Alex ex Bowman said. “We’re in such a tough spot, it’s almost less stressful, right? It’s not like we’re really close to the cutline and you’re trying to make sure you don’t make any mistakes. We got to make something happen.”
Mentally, he admits it’s been rough. “Mentally going through these last couple of weeks has not been a fun time for me… Just trying to run the best we can this weekend and be as prepared as I can be to go out there and do my job.”
Despite the changes, Bowman still has respect for his former pit crew members. “I’m definitely friends with all those guys and appreciative for all their hard work… It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they had an amazing day on pit road on the 77 car and looked really good.”
Now, it’s all on Bowman. One race. One shot. And if he wants his playoff dream to survive, Bristol has to be the place it all turns around.
Dogli Wilberforce is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce
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