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DAYTONA, FL – FEBRUARY 16:Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, fields questions from the media during Daytona 500 Media Day on February 16, 2022 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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DAYTONA, FL – FEBRUARY 16:Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, fields questions from the media during Daytona 500 Media Day on February 16, 2022 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The buzz around Daytona’s nail-biter of a finish hasn’t died down since William Byron was crowned the champ. Fox went all out, throwing evidence left, right, and center to prove Byron’s win was legitimate. They even floated an aerial snap showing the lay of the land right before the caution flag waved, hoping to quiet the doubters. But recently Alex Bowman dropped a bomb that has fueled the discussion all over again.
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Alex Bowman says it was heartbreaking to lose at Daytona by 6000th of a second
Recently during an appearance on Dale Earnhardt Jr‘s podcast, HMS’ Alex Bowman was inquired about his perspective of waiting to hear the news of who won the race. Bowman then threw everyone for a loop, saying, “Yeah, I mean I knew I was in front of him when the yellow light on the track came on.” This was a shocker, especially since he had previously appreciated William Byron, saying the win was well-earned- “Proud of William (Byron) and his team – they deserved it there at the end.” But now, his switch-up has folks scratching their heads and whispering.
Bowman, with a hint of a jab at NASCAR, mentioned, “To be honest, I felt like… They waited a long time to throw the yellow light. I think that’s the reason that I wasn’t more bummed about it than I was like to lose a Daytona 500 by 6000th of a second or whatever. It was definitely heartbreaking, but they could have thrown the caution probably a bit earlier and made that margin bigger, right?”
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Yet, taking it on the chin, Bowman acknowledged that racing’s full of these heart-stoppers. “That’s just part of racing. All you can do is move on to the next one and try to win the next one. It was a good day for us. You know, got good stage points and… And obviously a good finish, but yeah, a little bit heartbreaking for sure.”
But the controversies related to Alex Bowman do not end here. Despite being at the center of the storm that kicked off the final lap frenzy, he was taken aback to learn he was the catalyst for the 23-car melee.
#48 denies being aware of starting the ‘big one’
Bowman was aware of the chaos, but the news that he was the spark came as a bolt from the blue. The whole kerfuffle kicked off when Bowman, unintentionally, gave his Hendrick Motorsports buddy William Byron a little tap. That tap sent Byron twirling into Brad Keselowski‘s path.
Keselowski was caught off guard, swerved, and ended up tangling with his Ford drivers, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, dragging a whopping 23 cars into the whirlwind. The turmoil ensnared some of the sport’s heavy hitters, including 2021 Cup Series champ Kyle Larson, two-time trophy winner Joey Logano, 2017 champ Martin Truex Jr, and Denny Hamlin, who’s clinched the Daytona 500 title thrice.
Read More: Alex Bowman’s Denial of Triggering the Big One at Daytona Riles Up NASCAR Insider
Yet, Bowman was taken aback, “I can’t even see far enough (ahead) to see that Byron hitting Keselowski is what started it. I knew I had William in a spot that I didn’t want to have him in. But we’re all just sort of sandwiched up there.”
With the final 10 laps packed with edge-of-your-seat action, wouldn’t you say it was a edge-of-the-seat finish?
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Edited by
Ariva Debnath