Back in 2021, Alex Bowman had one of his statistically best seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series. He also won his first and only race at the Dover Motor Speedway that year. At a track where he has six top 10 finishes and multiple podium finishes, Bowman is rather confident that he might be the one who takes home the $1M prize from the NASCAR All-Star Race. But before he can do that, Bowman will make sure that he does not jinx his race.

Bowman recently made an appearance with PRN Media before the All-Star race. The host struck up a conversation about his trophy from the Monster Mile. What followed was a bizarre series of incidents that only added on to the number of superstitions that the motorsports community holds.

“So we had people come into the shop and say that the trophies on the floor were bad luck, and then they showed up later with tables to put the trophies on. We managed to run the worst we have ever run with the tables, and we just got rid of the tables, and the trophy’s back on the floor. And magically, we ran better,” Bowman said, recounting his encounter with the Monster Mile trophy.

It is one of the running gags that has now become a part of the NASCAR fandom. A few weeks ago, Noah Gragson had proposed a ‘waxing moon theory’ for the Texas Motor Speedway. At first people joked about it, but when the NASCAR race at Texas ended up causing multiple collisions from the first lap itself, they became serious and started thinking about if it was actually true.

While Bowman’s performance is related to his own racecraft and his team’s pace, the way he frames it makes it seem like the Monster Mile trophy does not like to sit on tables. Further during the conversation, Bowman also mentioned that he is actually looking forward to the race at Dover Motor Speedway this weekend.

Bowman looks forward to ending his winless streak

“I love Dover; it is probably my favorite race track. Obviously, statistically, we are really good there. We have only won once, but we have been capable of winning probably 5 or 6 of those things, so yeah, I really enjoy racing there and am excited to get there.” Alex Bowman’s claims about Dover are grounded in reality. He is actually one of the better drivers at the track.

In his previous race at Dover, he was close to another victory but lost out during a late race restart. Bowman’s gamble to choose the bottom line during the restart helped him earn a podium finish while competing against his teammate, Kyle Larson. Unfortunately for Bowman, he had no way to overtake the Joe Gibbs Racing cars in front of him.

During his post-race interview, a surprised Bowman reacted, “Honestly, I was pretty surprised to clear [Larson] there. Bottom lane restarts here are tough. Our car wraps the bottom really well; there are some things I do that I look for here, and maybe it paid off that last restart. It’s hard to say until we go back and watch it.”

With multiple top 5 finishes in his career at Dover, it is a shame that there will be no points race at this racetrack this season. Alex Bowman has been carrying a streak of two top-5 finishes from his last three races. His return to the Cup Series after recovering from vertigo was looking positive with these results. Had Dover been a points-paying race, Bowman would be able to prove the critics wrong with a potential victory considering his past success at the racetrack.

Still, a win is a win, and if it comes with a $1M paycheck, Bowman won’t refuse it. What matters right now is that he is able to secure those wins for Hendrick Motorsports. Perhaps it is going to be the deciding factor in his contract conversations with Rick Hendrick. The injuries and subsequent loss of performance he faced were unavoidable, but he can still avoid losing his seat if he provides HMS with good data.

Chevy is struggling to come to terms with their new body and its aerodynamic capabilities. Chase Elliott is the only driver from Hendrick Motorsports to claim a victory this year. With a win under his belt, Bowman can at least have the higher ground during the team discussions.