Alex Bowman Vents Frustration as Disappointing Playoff Run Continues at Gateway

A week ago, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers were in tight spots. During the Southern 500 race, Alex Bowman probably suffered the most, as he encountered a disastrous 40-second pit stop barely 70 laps into the race. That put the winless HMS driver 19 points below the cutoff line, leaving things uneasy for the next race. But while his teammates could rebound at Gateway, Bowman’s misery continued.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ second playoff race ensued at World Wide Technology Raceway. A lot of top-seeded drivers who faltered in Darlington raged back – like Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott. However, Alex Bowman was left wondering about what went wrong and the ominous signs for his future.

Dejection galore for Alex Bowman

Hendrick Motorsports does not have an impressive history on short, flat tracks. Hence, the entire team was banking on a crucial tire test, which Kyle Larson undertook in Gateway back in June. It paid dividends for most – William Byron and Kyle Larson finished 11th and 12th, respectively. Chase Elliott came out on top, scoring points in both stages and finishing in 3rd place. This left Elliott with a comfortable 28-point buffer above the cutline. At the same time, however, Alex Bowman went through a lot of trouble that landed him in 26th place and a 35-point deficit.

After rolling off in 25th place, Alex Bowman encountered multiple problems during pit stops. Those involved a speeding penalty that was the final nail in his coffin. Learn about his dilemma from Bowman’s words to Frontstretch: “Um, I didn’t go over my lights. So yeah, super frustrated on that…I don’t know, it’s frustrating to have that stuff happen. But I don’t wanna call anybody out. Like it just kind of is what it is. So just gotta keep working. Can’t have those mistakes at this time of the year. Honestly, just haven’t been executing very well.”

Indeed, the execution trouble that happened during the 40-second pit stop in Darlington continued in Gateway as well. Alex Bowman climbed to 11th during a restart, and he carved his path up to 7th as the end of Stage 2 approached. However, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney‘s caution left Bowman at risk of another faulty pit stop. The jackman could not tighten the wheel at one go, and Bowman lost several precious seconds, so he dropped to 30th again. The ensuing speeding penalty on lap 207 axed his chances totally. Now, Bowman faces a must-win situation in Bristol to redeem himself and his HMS boss’s faith. He said, “Just gotta go to work.”

While Alex Bowman works through his troubles, one of his teammates faced controversy at Gateway. That involved an encounter with another team’s driver.

Repenting an unexpected bump

There are many notorious drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series, but Chase Elliott is not one of them. The 7-time Most Popular Driver is known for running his peers as clean as possible. But despite this clean slate, Elliott has been known for occasional dust-ups. Consider his encounter with Kyle Larson in Iowa, where the latter bashed his teammate. Now in Gateway, Elliott brushed with Josh Berry, driver for Wood Brothers Racing. The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy driver tapped Berry’s No. 21 Ford in the left rear, sending the latter spinning into the Turn 2 wall on lap 36.

However, Chase Elliott humbly apologized for the incident. He has a personal connection with WBR, as Bill Elliott raced for the team in the past. He said, “I had no intention of getting into him. I’ve known those guys my whole life, so I just hope that they know it wasn’t anything intentional. I felt terrible about it right when it happened, and I wish I could take it back.” Josh Berry accepted this apology, acknowledging his past association with Elliott. He took it on himself, as Berry is on a consecutive streak of 36th or worse in the playoffs. “Chase and that team have done a lot for me, and I really doubt that was on purpose,” said Berry, who crashed on the first lap of the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway. “Just wrong place, wrong time for us again.” 

As Chase Elliott looks forward to a cleaner race next week, Alex Bowman looks forward to redemption. Let us wait and see which HMS driver performs better in Bristol.