Alex Bowman could’ve missed the Mexico City race because of the lower back pain he was suffering from after that hard crash in Michigan. He was sore after the crash, “I don’t know if on paper that’s the biggest hit I’ve ever taken, but it’s the most painful one I’ve taken for sure. Even compared to when I broke my back, it’s way more pain than that was.” But with a playoff spot at stake, Bowman braved the pain to make that trip, and looking at the results, he will be glad he made this call.

He had finished 27th or worse in his last seven starts of the nine starts, and multiple DNFs didn’t help his cause. Without a win so far this season, Bowman knew he couldn’t afford to lose any more points, and after the checkered flag dropped at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, he finished fourth. This was his first top 5 finish since Kansas, and it came at the right time. With Shane van Gisbergen winning the race, he reshuffled the pecking order and changed the playoffs race.

“Yeah, I think running well probably made it easier than it could have been. Just proud of the whole Ally 48 team. I put us behind this week. I couldn’t walk on Wednesday, so I missed all my sim stuff. I missed all my meetings just trying to get back going. And I had a lot of help from a lot of people to fix whatever the hell was going on,” the HMS driver said after the race.

For context, Bowman was only 13 points above the cutline entering Mexico City. And that picture changed after SVG won the race last Sunday. However, thanks to those 41 points, Bowman now finds himself 22 points to good. On the flip side, the likes of Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell, and Kyle Busch got pushed further down in the standings. There were a lot of chats about his future on social media, and Carson Hocevar was rumored to be the driver to replace Bowman in the #48 Chevy.

Well, Hocevar once again found himself in the news for all the wrong reasons. The Spire Motorsports driver locked up his tires late in the race and spun Ricky Stenhouse Jr. What followed was a heated exchange with Stenhouse vowing to settle the score in Pocono. Fans appreciated that Bowman mustered up the courage to get back on track, while Hocevar couldn’t keep his car straight in Mexico.

A fan on Reddit tipped his hat for the HMS driver, stating, “And amidst all the uncertainty revolving fans on here wanting him replaced by Hocevar, Hocevar (love the guy) looked like a fool all weekend long, where Bowman was head-down and delivered.” This sentiment was shared by others as well, who shared their takes on Bowman’s outing in Mexico.

NASCAR fans rally behind Alex Bowman’s resilient drive

Amid all the criticism, there are still people who are willing to defend Bowman. One person said on Reddit, “To paraphrase what Dale, Jr said about AB many years ago, ‘He doesn’t know how good he really is!” I believe his quiet personality often gives people the wrong impression about him. He’s really a very good driver!” Bowman started out as a replacement driver for Dale Jr. when he was dealing with concussions in 2016. Although it can be intimidating to have teammates like William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott, Bowman showed the flash of brilliance in Mexico.

 Even the rival fans who were expecting big changes to the points standings cheered for the HMS driver, “Not an HMS fan but kudos to Bowman for persevering. 48 team had Anthony Alfredo on standby to fill in for Bowman and Bowman pushed through. As an RFK fan I was hoping this be the chance to pounce on Bowman in the standings. But he really did really well.”

Few people even pointed out how he was performing compared to Chase Elliott. As per another fan, “If people actually think Bowman should be replaced, they should also think that Chase Elliott should be replaced with the same logic.” Both, Bowman and Elliott are in a same boat and have yet to win this season. Interestingly, NASCAR’s most popular driver has been chasing that win since Texas last year. So, it seems like Alex Bowman takes the tumble anytime things are not going well at HMS, but somehow Elliott ducks all the criticism and backlash.

A fan even argued that had it not been the wrecks and DNFs, Bowman was on the right trajectory at the start of the season. “The fact he’s still in 12th after the string of DNF’s is a testament to how well his season was going prior.” He was racing for a win in Homestead until his teammate Larson outpaced him late in the race. In the first six races of the 2025 season, he had five top 10s, including that runner-up finish in Homestead. So, luck and freak crashes have played a part in Bowman hitting the slump mid-season.

With Chicago Street Race and road course races left in the regular season, Bowman still has a shot to seal his playoff spot with a win. All he needs is to keep building momentum with the #48 team.