The 2021 NASCAR season produced many, many moments that were rich with racing action, and there were instances of the drivers locking horns. And towards the end of the season, in Martinsville, Hendrick driver Alex Bowman came away not only with a win, but a nickname: ‘The Hack.’ This nickname was given to him by Denny Hamlin.

Since then, Bowman’s nickname has been seen on t-shirts, cars, and more by the driver himself and others as well.

But one wonders, why did Hamlin call Bowman ‘a hack?’

How did that nickname come to be?

During the race in Martinsville, with seven laps to go, Denny Hamlin was in the lead, aiming to qualify for the last four in Phoenix.

And with the Joe Gibbs driver was in the lead, the Hendrick driver made contact with him, causing Hamlin to spin around and hit the wall. This put Hamlin’s last four hopes in jeopardy for a while, but luckily for him, he qualified.

Yet the 40-year-old remained bitter about the race win that got away from his hands courtesy of an ambitious move by Bowman.

In his post-race interview, an infuriated Hamlin expressed his thoughts on the race winner.

“He’s just a hack,” Hamlin said.

“An absolute hack. He gets his a**-kicked by his teammates, every week. He’s f**king terrible, he’s just terrible.”

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Alex Bowman embraced his new name

Despite the insulting comments from Hamlin, Alex Bowman responded a little unexpectedly, but in the appropriate manner.

Because instead of firing back with a more brutal or savage insult, Bowman embraced this nickname. Soon after he was nicknamed ‘a hack,’ Bowman put up t-shirts with that graphic on them, with the proceeds going to charity.

Bowman also spray-painted the nickname over his car in one of the post-season races.

Bowman, who had four wins in the 2021 season, failed to advance into the Last four.

So, in 2022, Alex Bowman will hope to keep winning races, all the while remaining, ‘the hack.’

Also Read: Alex Bowman Reflects on the ‘Life Lesson’ He Learnt From The Infamous Denny Hamlin Episode