You’ve got to give it to Alex Bowman for the remarkable turnaround he made over the past weekend. After losing out on Cup racing for nearly one month due to health concerns, Bowman finally found his mojo. But his good comeback might not be enough for his team, who are starting to shift his responsibilities and focus on the next best thing instead of a championship.

Entering the final year of his contract with Hendrick Motorsports, the No. 48 driver was already treading a thin line. With a roster of young and remarkable talents, Bowman had to make a significant contribution to the team in order to save his seat. Rick Hendrick was actively helping by giving his team a complete overhaul.

Now, after missed races and a slow return to form, it seems like the team has given up on a championship with Bowman in 2026. While addressing the media post-race, Jeff Gordon spoke up about Alex Bowman’s performance.

“Well, I mean, just continue to improve and contribute the way he has been, which goes deeper than just results. It’s all about, you know, the feedback that he has throughout the race, throughout the race weekend, and in Monday debriefs, and he’s doing he’s doing all those things.

“I mean, Alex is a great guy. He’s been a great asset to Hendrick. He’s had some misfortunes that were out of his control. But we think the world of Alex; he’s like family to us. We just want what’s best for him and what’s best for the team right now, and that’s where our focus is.”

The statement does sound positive for a driver like Bowman, who was already facing a massive career slump before entering the 2026 season. However, it also omits some key expectations that a team like Hendrick Motorsports would have from its stars. Rick Hendrick’s camp is arguably the best Chevy team in the NASCAR Cup Series. Thus, it appears weird that they are not focusing on the championship with Alex Bowman.

Instead, the team is more focused on the feedback he provides while he tries his best to return to winning ways. In a season where Chevys are playing the losing game and barely keeping up with the Toyotas, HMS needs all the data it can in order to improve its cars.

Bowman has gone more than 60 races without a victory in the Cup Series. His consecutive third-place finishes are close but not close enough. Before Bowman’s return to racing, his replacement, Justin Allgaier, was barely keeping the No. 48 team together, with the entire garage facing difficulty. Now that Bowman is back in business, HMS has flawless and efficient communications with him to understand how the new Chevy body can be better adapted to the drivers’ wants.

Unfortunately, that also means that instead of running for a championship this year, Bowman will need to focus on running for the most victories he can get. He has to rake in consistent top 5s like the past two weekends to ensure a second chance with a contract extension next year. Although his drive in the past two weeks has been amazing and deserves its own mention.

Alex Bowman claps back against Texas troubles

To understand why his third-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway yesterday was so important, we need to go back all the way to 2022. He had a strange spin during the playoff race at Talladega in the 2022 season. In fact, Bowman was one of the first victims of the Next-Gen NASCAR’s issues. At that point, it was theorized that the bumps on the track paired with tire issues spun his car out of control.

The crash had adverse effects on his health, causing a concussion. He was ruled out of the Playoffs and did not race for the rest of the season. Speaking about his condition, Bowman said, “I’m disappointed but know my health is the number one priority. I am committed to following all medical guidance to ensure I can return to competition as soon as possible.”

What followed this was a string of injuries and bizarre incidents that kept him from returning to form. In 2023, he would end up missing three races of the season due to a fractured vertebra from a sprint car crash during his midseason preparation. He was unable to bring a good finish that season with a mere P20 in the driver standings.

He made a recovery in 2024 and secured his first victory since 2022, eventually leading to a top 10 finish in the drivers’ championship. But the next season, his injuries returned to haunt him once again. While fighting Kyle Larson for the victory at Homestead, Bowman would end up in the wall and miss his win. Later in the season, another hard crash would bring back his past ghosts, leaving his back sore and his performance mediocre due to the same.

And finally, in 2026, the culmination of it all hit hard for Bowman. During the race at the Circuit of the Americas, Alex Bowman faced vertigo symptoms and had to exit his car on lap 71. He stayed away from racing for four consecutive weeks before coming back at Bristol. Although his team and Bowman himself have not connected his vertigo to his past injuries and his concussion from 2022, this entire chapter of medical setbacks in his life is quite worrisome.