Alex Bowman had to sweat it out for much of this past Saturday\u2019s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Entering the race occupying the 16th and final playoff spot, Bowman\u2019s run came to an end after he was involved in the Lap 27 \u201cbig one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just like that, Bowman had no control over his situation \u2014 all the way to the very end of the race. Yes, Ryan Blaney won the race, meaning Bowman ultimately ended up being safe. But the four drivers whom Blaney beat to the line \u2014 Daniel Su\u00e1rez, Justin Haley, Cole Custer, Erik Jones \u2014 all drivers who needed a win to make the playoffs, all drivers who could have knocked out Bowman. <\/p>\n
It should have never come down to that, Kevin Harvick said on Tuesday\u2019s \u201cHappy Hour<\/a>\u201d podcast. Harvick called out a flaw in the points system, saying that Bowman\u2019s overall body of work over the course of 26 weeks should have mattered more.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the way to the end. There was so many of those guys up in the front there at the end [who needed to win]. \u2026 I think Alex Bowman deserves to be in there,\u201d Harvick said. \u201cThat\u2019s the part that I don\u2019t like about the current points system is there\u2019s nothing that guarantees rewarding all 26 weeks in there currently. <\/p>\n \u201cCole Custer was in the mix, he\u2019s 33rd in the points and to me, that\u2019s tough to knock a guy out by winning one superspeedway race over a guy like Alex Bowman who\u2019s put together 26 weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Alex Bowman has Ryan Blaney to thank<\/p>\n Bowman came oh so close to being knocked out of postseason contention despite accumulating the ninth-most points this season. Blaney saved him, and he owes him a lot<\/a> \u2014 like a lot, a lot. <\/p>\n