Alex Bowman rolled into Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12 with big expectations, and for a moment, it looked like he’d deliver something special. He did set the fastest lap ever by a Next Gen car on the half-mile concrete oval — clocking a blistering 14.912 seconds at 128.675 mph — to snag the pole for Food City 500. It was his second pole of the season, hot on the heels of his Homestead stunner, and his second straight at Bristol, proving the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team had their short-track game locked in. The moment hit deeper when Bowman dedicated the pole to Jon Edwards, a beloved Hendrick staffer who’d recently passed away. That brought raw emotion to an already electric weekend.

Bowman started Sunday’s race like a man on a mission, leading the first 39 laps with poise and control. But Bristol’s a beast, and things unraveled fast. Kyle Larson, his teammate, overtook him on Lap 40, and by Lap 285, Bowman’s No. 48 was losing steam. An engine failure confirmed by Lap 300 sent him limping to a 37th-place finish. It was a gut-wrenching end to a weekend that started with so much promise. It’s the kind of swing that reminds everyone how cruel racing can be. One minute you’re untouchable, the next you’re out.

Despite the Bristol heartbreak, Bowman’s 2025 season has been solid. Through nine races, he’s racked up five top fives and 12 top 10s, keeping him firmly in the playoff hunt. But the winless streak’s weighing heavy, and heading into Iowa Speedway, he’s got a plan to shake off the misery and chase that elusive checkered flag. Meanwhile, his Hendrick teammates are making life even more stressful, locked in a tight battle for the regular-season crown.

Bowman’s strategy for Iowa

At Iowa, Bowman opened up about his mindset, saying, “I think it’s pretty situational, right? Like, we’re always going to try to go for wins. You know, as of now, we can still point our way in, so it’s just a difficult spot. It’s a stressful spot. And yeah, I just got to evaluate every situation and hopefully make the right decisions, and hopefully just be fast. You know the next couple of weeks and try to get a win.”

With 63 points above the playoff cutline and sitting 15th in the standings, Bowman’s in a safe spot, but he’s not coasting. His game plan’s clear: go for wins when the setup and track position align, but don’t risk it all and crash his points cushion. At Indy, he played it smart, banking a top-10 finish without reckless moves. That showed he’s got the discipline to balance aggression with caution. With only three races left, staying fast and mistake-free is his ticket to locking in a playoff spot.

Bowman got real about the pressure, too, stating: “It would be pretty tough to catch the 45 in points, so you know that, then it becomes staying ahead of the 17. And yeah, it’s a tough spot to be in a situation that we don’t want to be in. We wish we had won by now, but we have been doing a lot of really good things too, so just got to keep working hard and be the best we can be.”

Bowman’s got his eyes on Chris Buescher’s No. 17, just 21 points back, not Tyler Reddick’s No. 45, who’s too far ahead to catch. His four top 10s in the last five races, including Dover and Nashville, show he’s been steady, avoiding DNFs and playing stage points smartly. The “tough spot” is the winless streak, but his consistency has kept him above the bubble. Iowa’s short track could be his shot to shine, and he’s banking on Hendrick’s setup strength to finally break through.

Hendrick’s tight title fight

While Bowman’s chasing his first win, his Hendrick Motorsports teammates are in a dogfight for the regular-season championship. Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Kyle Larson sit 1-2-3 in the standings. With four races left, Elliott leads Byron by just four points, with Larson 15 back. That makes this the closest battle for the 15-playoff-point bonus since the system started in 2017. Iowa’s a big stage. Byron was second there last year, Elliott third, and Larson, despite a 34th-place crash after a Daniel Suarez spin, had pole and a stage win, showing serious speed.

Larson reflected on the team’s run,  “I feel like our team was strong to start the year (this season). We had those five or six weeks where we had fallen off a bit, but these last two have gone well. We were competitive here at Iowa last year …” Hendrick’s dominance is clear, but Larson knows it’s not over. “It’s great to see Hendrick Motorsports atop the standings right now, at least three of us are, with just a few races left till the end of the regular season. That’s something to be proud of, but there’s still a lot of racing left, and the playoffs can be crazy.”

Denny Hamlin’s lurking, 20 points behind Elliott despite skipping Mexico City for his son’s birth. The fight’s going down to Daytona, and for Bowman, watching his teammates battle for the top spot adds extra heat to his winless grind. Iowa’s his next chance to join the party.