Hendrick Motorsports’ start to the season was quite different from the expectations. Usually looking to dominate the proceedings from the kickoff, one factor that prevented them from doing so was injuries. With Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman sidelined with tibia and vertebra injuries, the onus was on Kyle Larson and William Byron to maintain the flow of points.

Bowman’s injury was one of the more unexpected ones, coming from an incident during a sprint car race. Having to miss three point-scoring races, Bowman recently opened up about the unfortunate accident and its recovery phase in a conversation with Dale Jr on The Dale Jr Download.

Alex Bowman talks about denying the possibility of an injury

After missing out on four races, the #48 Chevy driver was up and running at the Coca-Cola 600. But before coming to the Charlotte Motor Speedway, he had to prove his fitness to NASCAR with 200 practice laps at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. Missing out on three points-paying races was particularly disheartening because, before that, Bowman was the driver with the best average finish among all drivers.

Talking about his injury, Bowman said, “I’m great at denying red flags. Like the red flag of the bone snapping noise when I landed, it sounded like I was at the chiropractor. ” It seems that Bowman could try to be a bit more self-aware.

“No I just popped my back, everything’s fine. It was not fine. Like I refuse transport, I was like I’m not gonna go to hospital, I’m not doing this, I’m fine, it just hurts.” said Bowman, expressing his initial reluctance at being assisted by the medical authorities.

This was an important factor in Bowman’s recovery. Had he chosen not to avail help right away, the situation might have been worse by now. Being self-aware is of utmost help in such situations. As the conversation went on, Bowman further elaborated on his encounter with the doctor.

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Bowman discloses dreadful revelation by doctor

The 30-year-old then moved on to the procedure of diagnosis. Speaking about what ultimately made him consult the doctor he said, “And then I couldn’t get my firesuit off and I was like, maybe we’ll get to the hospital. They’ll scan and tell everything’s fine.”

Bowman revealed that the doctor almost had his hopes up with a sarcastic joke. Initially overjoyed, his relief was short-lived, “The doctor, he really got me. He came in after the x-ray and he’s like alright, great news, we can take your neck brace off. Nothing’s wrong with your neck. But your back is broken. So, yeah I had a broken back and it was pretty painful.”

Medical reports suggested that surgery was unnecessary in this case. Bowman was certainly lucky with the positioning of the fracture there. The main advice was to exercise and regain mobility.

Staying away from injuries will be key for him if he wants to fight for a place in the playoffs. With NASCAR taking off a massive 60 points off Bowman’s tally due to a greenhouse violation by the #48 team, it might seem a hard task at hand. But Alex Bowman looks confident about managing it in time. He currently sits at a precarious 16th place in the point standings.

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