Alex Bowman came into Michigan with his chin up, shoulders back, and his focus locked in. Despite a wreck and a poor 36 place finish just one week earlier in Nashville, Bowman wasn’t dwelling on the damage. He spoke with confidence before the FireKeepers Casino 400, saying, “I feel like our fastest race cars have all been on weeks that we haven’t finished the races, unfortunately, for a pretty big variety of different reasons at this point. But we’re continuing to plug away at it. I think we’re in a pretty good spot,” as he looked ahead.

He believed his No. 48 crew had what it took to flip the script. That mindset came in spite of a rocky streak filled with setbacks. His optimism was real. However, all the positives that Bowman carried into Michigan came crashing down, literally. His race ended shockingly during Stage 2. The violent impact left fans frozen and Jeff Gordon and other HMS members visibly shaken. As the red flag came out and safety crews rushed in, one thing was certain: Bowman’s Michigan curse had returned, and this time it sent tremors through the Hendrick Motorsports camp.

Alex Bowman’s Michigan curse continues!

The HMS driver entered the Michigan race 12th in the NASCAR Cup points standings, 213 points out of first. But things took a disastrous turn for him and his playoff chances. It happened on Lap 68. Just as the field restarted following a caution, chaos erupted again. Austin Cindric clipped Cole Custer’s No. 41, sending him up the track. In a split second, Custer’s car collided with Bowman’s front left. The No. 48 machine went straight into the outside wall, nose-first, at terrifying speed. The crash was brutal.

Bowman’s car lifted briefly off all four wheels before smashing down, lifeless, against the barrier. The impact was so severe that NASCAR immediately threw the red flag. Safety crews sprinted to Bowman, who had radioed in, “That one was really f***ing big.” Jeff Gordon, who oversees Hendrick Motorsports, watched in horror from pit road. Replays showed the SAFER barrier doing its job, but even that couldn’t erase the image of the crumpled front end of Bowman’s Chevy.

Everyone knew Bowman had already suffered a concussion and a broken back in past crashes. This wreck brought those fears back. The angle of the hit. The sheer speed. The silence afterward. It all screamed danger. But, despite the massive hit, Bowman climbed out of the car under his own power. Track medics helped him to the ambulance, and he was taken to the infield care center. NASCAR held the race for cleanup, but the emotional scar lingered.

“Yeah, I mean, it happened so fast. I didn’t even see them. I didn’t know who hit me until I saw the video… You’re in dirtier air, and everybody’s stuff drives worse, so things like that tend to happen. I feel okay. It was the biggest hit I’ve ever taken in a stock car by a mile. Head-on into the wall at Michigan like that, it’s gonna be that way,” Bowman said after the incident. Notably, this crash wasn’t just another DNF. It was the latest punch in a season that keeps knocking Bowman down.

He came into Michigan 12th in the standings. Not awful, but not safe. Only 46 points separated him from the playoff cut. He hadn’t won a race this year. And the numbers don’t lie. Over his last nine races, Bowman has finished 27th or worse in seven of them. He’s crashed out at Texas, Bristol, Nashville, and now Michigan. He showed promise at Homestead but still came up short. One top five at Kansas. A top 10 at Talladega. But that’s it. The rest of the box score is rough reading.

Additionally, Michigan International Speedway hasn’t been kind to Bowman either. In his Cup series career, he never finished better than ninth on the 2-mile-long track. In 15 starts here, he has finished 16 and worse in twelve of them. As the dust settles from another wrecked weekend, the questions are piling up. Bowman’s crash in Michigan has not only shaken his team but stirred talks about the future of the No. 48 seat. With silly season in full swing and younger talent waiting in the wings, is Hendrick Motorsports thinking about making a change?

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Silly season storm: Is HMS going to replace Bowman?

In the high-stakes world of NASCAR, momentum is everything. And right now, Alex Bowman is losing his. In contrast, Carson Hocevar is on the rise. After nearly winning the Coca-Cola 600 and then backing it up with a strong second-place finish in Nashville, Hocevar is turning heads, not just with results, but with drama. His fiery feud with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and bold social media antics is keeping fans talking.

It only added fuel to the fire when Hendrick Motorsports posted a tweet showing an empty desk at HQ. “Admin’s desk space got a remodel. What should we do with this space?” they asked. Hocevar responded with a clever edit, placing a Chili’s logo on the desk. It was part joke, part message. Fans went into overdrive. Was this a hint? Could Hocevar be eyeing the No. 48 seat? It wouldn’t be far-fetched. Hocevar has shown he belongs in the Cup Series.

More importantly, Bowman’s continued struggles are opening a door. When asked about improvements, Bowman admitted, “So it’s been a little bit of everything. We need to be faster, but we also need to execute.” That honest self-assessment may not be enough if results don’t change. HMS has been patient, but patience isn’t endless. Also, after his second-place finish in Nashville, Jeff Gordon was seen praising him on pit road.

Additionally, this won’t sound odd to anyone as Spire Motorsports has a technical alliance with HMS, and getting Hocevar in HMS won’t be difficult. As the season heads into its final stretch, Bowman faces more pressure than ever. With every DNF, his grip on the No. 48 weakens. Meanwhile, Hocevar keeps climbing. If Hendrick Motorsports decides to make a move, it won’t be a surprise. The next few races could be Bowman’s last chance to prove he still belongs.