HMS Star Lets Slip Biggest Season Regret Despite Secured Playoff Berth

In NASCAR, where a mere 0.001 seconds can reshape an entire season, as seen when Kyle Larson edged Chris Buescher at Kansas Speedway in 2024, split-second decisions define destinies. This truth hit home for Alex Bowman in 2025, as he clinched his playoff spot by the slimmest of threads, thanks to Ryan Blaney’s Daytona victory by just 0.031 seconds over Daniel Suarez. Without that win, Bowman’s playoff dreams could have crumbled, especially after his own early wreck left him finishing 36th at the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Yet, even with the berth secured, questions linger about what might have been.

Bowman hadn’t tasted victory all season, coming agonizingly close with a second-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier in the year, where he led 43 laps before falling to teammate Kyle Larson. As races grew tighter heading into the postseason, regrets surfaced for many drivers, echoing Jamie McMurray’s reflection on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, “My biggest regret in racing is not enjoying it.” For Bowman, entering the playoffs without a win amplified those “what ifs.” What exactly weighs on his mind as the competition intensifies? Let’s hear it straight from the Hendrick Motorsports driver himself.

Alex Bowman’s candid confession

On the NASCAR Live podcast, Alex Bowman opened up to host Steve Post about the mental tightrope of high-stakes racing, especially after locking in his playoff position without a single victory in the 2025 regular season. Despite starting the year strong with a pole at Homestead and consistent top-10 runs, Bowman’s campaign hit a rough patch in April and May, where mechanical issues and on-track incidents led to a string of last-place finishes, dropping him to ninth in points by mid-season.

This slump tested the No. 48 team’s resilience, but their rebound post-Michigan, marked by seven top-10s in the final 10 races, kept them in contention. Alex Bowman highlighted this turnaround, saying, “Yeah, I mean, I think I think we went into Daytona or were tied for the second-most top tens. We were ninth in points. And that’s with pretty much two months straight of finishing last every week in April and May. So, yeah, just, you know, we’ve done, like, so much good, I would say, like, post-Michigan that just kind of, I tried to focus on that.”

Yet, the biggest sting for Bowman remains the absence of a win before the playoffs, a regret he voiced plainly amid the chaos of Daytona, where factors beyond his control, like the multi-car crash that sidelined him early, nearly derailed everything. His zero victories in 26 regular-season starts are a stark contrast to his 2024 Chicago triumph that snapped an 80-race drought.

Substantiating his frustration, Bowman explained the unpredictability of superspeedway racing, noting, “And you just go to Daytona knowing that so much is outside of your control that it’s tough. So, uh, yeah, I wish we would have won before now, but I’m glad that we were able to get our way in. And yeah, ready to go to work.” This admission ties back to his near-miss at Homestead, where he dominated the early stages but couldn’t seal the deal, fueling a narrative of untapped potential heading into the postseason.

Bowman’s story mirrors broader challenges in NASCAR, where drivers like him balance raw speed with the mental grind of missed opportunities. His team’s data from the official standings shows they ranked high in top-10 finishes, yet the win column stayed empty, amplifying the regret of not capitalizing sooner. As he shifts focus to the playoffs, this honesty underscores a driver eager to rewrite the script, starting at Darlington.

With the playoffs now underway, Bowman isn’t alone in navigating these pressures; his Hendrick Motorsports teammates are channeling similar focus to push forward. How are they approaching the grueling rounds ahead?

Hendrick stars tackle the playoffs step by step

Chase Elliott, fresh off his 2020 championship, stresses the value of staying present amid the playoff frenzy, drawing from lessons learned in a sport that’s evolved rapidly since his title run. Elliott shared, “I always think it’s important to stay where your feet are.” This mindset helps him block out distractions, especially with the first round featuring tracks like Darlington and Bristol, where execution trumps overthinking. His approach resonates as Hendrick fields four playoff contenders, all aiming to build on a season where the team amassed multiple poles and strong finishes across the board.

William Byron, tied atop the playoff standings with 26 bonus points above the cutline, echoes the need for a granular focus, avoiding the trap of projecting too far ahead in a format where one bad stage can shift everything. In the same Hendrick feature, Byron elaborated, “Just have to think one week at a time. It’s very easy to look ahead and be like, ‘OK, this track is good for us, or this one’s good for us,’ but it just changes week to week. It’s really just looking at where you’re at and approaching every practice session, every qualifying session, every stage of the race, and every set of tires in the race, one thing at a time.”

This philosophy has served him well, evidenced by his consistent top-15 average finish in 2025, positioning him as a steady force in the opening trio of races.

Kyle Larson, no stranger to clutch performances, rounds out the Hendrick quartet by prioritizing flawless execution over assumptions of dominance, even at strongholds like Darlington, where he’s historically excelled. The site quotes Larson saying, “But you can’t ever go into a race expecting to have that good of a good day; you just have to try to execute.” Teamed with Bowman, who brings momentum from recent speed despite his regrets, Larson’s emphasis on stage points and potential wins could propel the group deeper, as all four drivers leverage their combined experience to chase the ultimate prize in Phoenix.