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Tag: Alex Bowman

  • The Players – The Best Teams’ 2018 Lineup in NASCAR Cup

    The Players – The Best Teams’ 2018 Lineup in NASCAR Cup

    It’s only a short time until the annual Media Tour at the Hall of Fame in Charlotte. We will learn a lot there, but a couple things are obvious. There will be 24 major teams running next year (10 Fords, nine Chevrolets, and five Toyotas). Each camp has stars in their lineup, but Toyota’s dominance of the 2017 season (with only six competitive cars) is favored. Let’s look at each team’s lineup.

    Chevrolet has the four Hendrick Motorsports cars. HMS fell on hard times last year despite their dominance for several years. Jimmie Johnson will be back in the Lowe’s Camaro. You read that right. The older SS they have fun the last few years is no longer being manufactured, so a change had to be made. Besides, finding a dealer with a Chevy SS was about as hard as finding a needle in a haystack anyway. After Johnson, the rest of the team will be made up of a group of youngsters. Chase Elliott is back, this time taking his father’s No. 9, William Byron, in the 24, and Alex Bowman in the 88. Of this team, only Johnson has ever won a Cup race. You might call this a rebuilding year for HMS.

    Richard Childress Racing will field the 31 for Ryan Newman, the 3 for Austin Dillon, and the 27, with the driver rumored to be Brennan Poole, but nothing has been announced. Both Newman and Dillon won races last year.

    Chip Ganassi Racing will feature Kyle Larson in the 42, coming off an excellent season. Jamie McMurray will be back in the No. 1 Chevrolet.

    Ford will field one more competitive car in 2018. Team Penske has expanded to three cars with Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 and Joey Logano in the No.22 Fords. Ryan Blaney, who earned his first victory in 2017 with the Wood Brothers will pilot the No. 12 Ford. The team’s alliance with the Wood Brothers continues with Paul Menard taking over the driving chores. Penske bought a charter for the No. 12 from Roush Fenway Racing, meaning the No. 16 is not coming back. The Charter was leased to the No. 37 JTG Daugherty team last year.

    Roush Fenway will see their improved team have the same driver lineup. Trevor Bayne in the No. 6 and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the No. 17. Stenhouse won two restrictor plate races in 2017 and Bayne won the Daytona 500 in 2011.

    Stewart-Haas Racing will see it’s lineup jumbled somewhat. The Ford team will have Aric Almirola move over from the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 and drive the No. 10, formerly driven by Danica Patrick. Otherwise, things stay the same with 2017 Final Four driver Kevin Harvick in the No.4, Clint Bowyer in the 14, and Kurt Busch in the 41.

    Toyota saw its field go down a car this year. The Joe Gibbs Racing stable will have the 11 with Denny Hamlin, the 19 with Daniel Suarez, the 18 with Kyle Busch, and Erik Jones, who raced for Furniture Row Racing in 2017 in the No. 20. Much like Team Penske does with the Wood Brothers, Furniture Row and 2017 champ Martin Truex, Jr. will field the 78 Toyota. Furniture Row did not have sponsorship for the No. 77 car, so Toyota’s stable goes from six to five for 2018

    These are the teams that I predict will land in victory lane in 2018. Oh, we may get a surprise winner, but these 24 teams will battle race in and race out for the checkers. We will know more in a couple of weeks when the teams meet with the media in Charlotte, but this how I see it now. A big hole was left in the sport with the retirements of Dale Earnhardt Jr, Danica Patrick and Matt Kenseth at the end of the year. How many will stay away from the sport because these drivers are not in the lineup? Time will tell.

  • Alex Bowman Drives to Victory at Charlotte in First XFINITY Start This Season

    Alex Bowman Drives to Victory at Charlotte in First XFINITY Start This Season

    CONCORD, N.C. — Alex Bowman claimed his first NASCAR national series victory Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the rain-delayed XFINITY Series race.

    In his first XFINITY start this season, he led 32 laps in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Chevrolet, capturing the Drive for The Cure 300 checkered flag on his way to Victory Lane. Next year, Bowman will take over the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s retirement.

    “It’s a dream come true,” said Bowman, who admitted to being slightly rusty in his return to competition. “I’ve got to thank Mr. Hendrick and Chip and everybody that made this possible. It’s been a long time since I’ve raced, so to come here and be as competitive as we were all night, even until that last restart, I was really pleased with how competitive we were.”

    Sam Hornish Jr. finished second for Team Penske in his fifth XFINITY start this season while Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon and Brennan Poole rounded out the top five finishers. The race was also the final event in the Playoff’s Round of 12, eliminating four drivers from the post-season championship Playoffs.

    William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Elliott Sadler, Daniel Hemric and Cole Custer secured their spots in the Round of 8 when points were awarded after the first two stages of the XFINITY race. They were joined by Poole, Matt Tifft and Ryan Reed, who earned one point more than Brendan Gaughan, at the completion of the Drive for The Cure 300.

    Reed spoke about going “all-in” during the Playoffs to gain that extra point by going three-wide with Gaughan and Byron at a critical point of the race.

    “I ran a pretty conservative race,” he said, “tried not to make too many radical moves and then there at the end I think in these Playoff races you have one or two moments where you have to lay it all out on the line and you have to go all-in so to speak. That was my moment to go all-in and it worked out. I’m glad.”

    Gaughan was eliminated as a championship contender along with Michael Annett, Blake Koch and Jeremy Clements.

    The next XFINITY Series race will be held at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 21.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

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  • Bowman Named as Earnhardt’s Successor

    Bowman Named as Earnhardt’s Successor

    Alex Bowman will take over as the driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from the retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the team announced in a press release this morning.

    The team didn’t disclose the length of his deal.

    “Ever since I was a kid, racing is all I’ve wanted to do,” Bowman said. “I’ve had so many people believe in me along the way. My family has sacrificed a lot and always been behind me. I would never have this chance without the support of Dale and everyone involved with the No. 88 team. To be part of Hendrick Motorsports and for Mr. Hendrick to have this confidence in me, it’s just amazing.

    “The No. 88 team is such a great group of people. I know we can pick up where we left off last year, and I truly believe we can win races and contend for a championship. I’m excited to build on the relationship with Nationwide and all of our partners. It means the world that they have faith in me, and I’m thankful to have them on my side. Now I just want to go win.”

    Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company also signed a one-year extension to remain the primary sponsor for 19 races. In addition, Axalta Coating Systems will remain on-board and as a primary sponsor for 15 races, up from 13.

    Since the moment Earnhardt announced back in April that he was retiring at the conclusion of this season, Bowman has been at the top of the list of drivers to replace him in the No. 88. The speculation is understandable given that Bowman drove as a substitute driver place of Earnhardt, who was sidelined the second half of the 2016 season with a concussion. Bowman earned three top-10 finishes in his 10-race substitute role, compared to two top-10’s in eight races by Jeff Gordon.

    His breakthrough race came last November at Phoenix when he started on pole and led a race-high of 194 laps, on his way to a sixth-place finish.

    He most recently raced the No. 88 in the unofficial season kickoff Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, by virtue of his aforementioned Phoenix pole, to a third-place finish.

    “Alex impressed the heck out of us last year with his talent, poise and professionalism,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “He stepped up in a very demanding situation and showed that he can run with the best and compete for wins. His ability to stay focused through it all, and the way he’s handled himself since then, has shown a lot of character. Greg (Ives) and the team loved working with Alex, and that dynamic will get even better with more time together.”

    This deal puts to rest speculation of the No. 88 being taken over by drivers such as JR Motorsports rookie driver and HMS development driver William Byron, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski to name a few.

  • Alex Bowman Approaching Final Race as Substitute Driver

    Alex Bowman Approaching Final Race as Substitute Driver

    As Saturday night’s Advance Auto Parts Clash approaches, for many drivers, it’s the beginning of a new season. However,  the opposite is true for Alex Bowman who has one more shot to show that he belongs in a ride in one of NASCAR’s  top three series.

    Bowman, who is 23-years-old, scored his first ever pole in NASCAR’s top series last fall at Phoenix International Raceway. He also led over half of the race but, unfortunately, was involved in a late-race incident with Matt Kenseth in the closing laps.

    He spoke to the media at Daytona International Speedway Friday about his future.

    “I was kind of surprised that a winning XFINITY car or something like that didn’t open up,” Bowman said. “I feel like I want to be part of a winning organization whether I am driving, just working for the team, doing testing or doing the simulation stuff.”

    He has nine starts in the XFINITY series for JR Motorsports, along with five top-fives with 50 starts in his career. Former Cup driver Michael Annett will run for JRM in the No. 5 car full-time this season.

    Bowman filled in for 10 races during the 2016 season as Dale Earnhardt recuperated from concussion-like symptoms and won the pole for the Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway in November, making him eligible for The Clash.

    As a result, Earnhardt wanted to give him the chance to compete in the event by allowing Bowman to drive the No. 88 car.

    “Alex did such a great job in the car this year, and I felt like he deserved another opportunity,” Earnhardt said. “When I spoke with Rick and the team about him driving The Clash, everyone agreed that he more than earned it, and Nationwide was 100 percent on board.

    Earnhardt will sit out the race but will be a part of the television coverage of The Clash Saturday night, live on FOX Sports 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

    Bowman is ready for the challenge that Saturday night will bring.

    “I feel like we can be up front all night,” he said confidently. ”But it definitely adds some pressure to have probably the best speedway racer of our time in the booth calling the race.”

    Bowman will start eighth in The Clash. The exhibition race will consist of 75 laps which will be split into two segments with a competition caution on Lap 25.

  • Alex Bowman’s Career to Date and Future Plans

    Alex Bowman’s Career to Date and Future Plans

    Since the latter half of 2016, Alex Bowman’s career has seen an uptick thanks to his time subbing for an injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. When the checkered flag flies tomorrow night, however, his time in the 88 car comes to an end.

    Bowman came into racing lighting up the ARCA Series with four wins in his rookie season on his way to a fourth-place finish in points.

    In NASCAR, success came harder.

    His 2013 rookie campaign in the XFINITY Series brought six top-10 finishes on the way to an 11th place finish in points. In terms of points, this is to date the high-point of his NASCAR career.

    The next two years, he ran for BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing to the tune of 30th place finishes on average. The highest he finished during this span was 13th at Daytona in July 2014.

    Joining the Hendrick stable following the 2015 season, Bowman wound up driving the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for nine races to the tune of seven top-10 finishes.

    But Earnhardt’s sidelining for a concussion gave way for Bowman’s display of driving ability that took ARCA by storm in 2011 and 2012. While not reflected in the stats, he only finished in the top-10 three times in 10 starts, he demonstrated he had the talent to drive. All he needed was the right equipment.

    At Phoenix last November, he scored his first career pole and led 197 of 324 laps on his way to a sixth-place finish.

    While he said he’s “[talked] about that quite a bit” with the folks at Hendrick Motorsports, he doesn’t know what the future holds.

    He admitted that there are “a couple of races, not in the Cup Series, but in some other stuff” that he’s excited about, but not at liberty to address at the present. Other than that, he’ll be “at the (Hendrick) shop and coming to the race track when I can,” being “a sponge and learn as much as I can.”

    He believes he’ll still be the go-to relief driver for Hendrick Motorsports, although they haven’t discussed the matter in great detail.

    Bowman also said he was offered full-time rides with other Cup teams, but nothing that has enticed him to leave Hendrick Motorsports.

  • The Final Word – All that mattered at Phoenix were six cars seeking two spots

    The Final Word – All that mattered at Phoenix were six cars seeking two spots

    It sucks not to matter. Forty cars took to the track at Phoenix, and only six of them mattered. Not Jimmie Johnson or Carl Edwards. Both had already locked in a final four berth at Homestead, so they mattered not. Not Kyle Larson or Trevor Bayne, who spun early.

    All that mattered at that moment was that they did not collect Joey Logano. He mattered. In fact, only Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and, the two needing a win at Phoenix, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch mattered a lick. The rest of the field was hamburger helper to add some bulk to the real meat.

    A third of the way through, Logano had taken over the lead. Kenseth and Hamlin were top ten cars, while Kyle Busch hoped he had cured a vibration issue while sitting 15th. As for Kurt Busch, he was in the top ten but, like Harvick, he was still too far back to challenge for the lead, or to matter.

    At two-thirds of the way along, pole sitter Alex Bowman was back in front. Winning a race matters, especially for a guy sitting in for one of the sport’s biggest stars and still seeking a ride of his own for next season. Kenseth was behind him, while Logano had faded to fifth. Still, the pair remained a handful of points to the good, ahead of Hamlin and Rowdy. Brother Kurt and Harvick still were not challenging, and still did not matter with just over a hundred laps remaining. The big question was is if there was any drama to be had over that time, or if we would ho-hum it to an expected conclusion?

    Usually, drama would include a pit penalty to Martin Truex Jr. or  Johnson. It usually would be noteworthy to mention an Austin Dillon spin, or Johnson picking up damage as his line accordioned in the aftermath. Usually. On Sunday, it did not matter, but at least it broke up the monotony. Barely.

    With 40 to go, things got interesting after a couple of cautions brought pit strategy into play. Kenseth led, Logano was behind him, and Kurt Busch was third, within striking distance. Hamlin and Kyle Busch completed the top five, with Harvick and an over-heating engine in sixth. Six cars in the top six spots seeking to fill two positions, and each one of them mattered.

    The raced, they sliced, they diced, and they did just about everything to put Vince the Slap Chop guy out of business, then a caution came out with two to go. It would come down to a green-white-checker. Kenseth would start in front beside Bowman. Kyle Busch and Logano would be in row two. Harvick and Larson in row three. Hamlin, in 10th, and Kurt Busch, in 11th, appeared to be out of the running. Was it down to four?

    On the re-start, Kyle tried to get around Bowman on the inside. Bowman wobbled, and Kenseth tried to dive down in front of him. Bowman had nowhere to go, and so they collided. Kenseth goes for a slide as the pack continued on without him. Kenseth’s car was a mess after contact with the wall. With another re-start, was it now down to three?

    As they came to the line, Logano had the lead. Kyle Busch hit the line seven points up on Hamlin, but Harvick was starting on the outside of the second row. Could he ruin someone’s day while making his own with a win?

    He could not. Logano won and, along with Kyle Busch, joins Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards in the final four next Sunday at Homestead. In Phoenix, that is all that mattered.

  • Alex Bowman Continues to Impress with Sixth Place Finish at Phoenix

    Alex Bowman Continues to Impress with Sixth Place Finish at Phoenix

    What a difference a few months can make.

    Bowman has gone from being jobless in January to joining JR Motorsports for eight XFINITY races to becoming the interim driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for what will be 10 Sprint Cup Series events.

    It has been a dream come true and he has embraced the opportunity with determination and focus.

    “If you would have asked me at any point in the last year if I would have a Cup pole in my career, I would have told you, you were crazy,” Bowman said. “So I’m very thankful to get this opportunity, obviously, not under the circumstances that anyone would want. But I’m trying to make the most of it and having a lot of fun. I have to thank the Hendrick engine shop. Obviously, we have great horsepower. Everybody on this team did an awesome job.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been a huge supporter of Bowman, saying that he was helped their qualifying program immensely and praising the talents of his interim driver.

    “Well, I’m not very good at qualifying,” Earnhardt admitted, “so he has been in the car and he has really helped our team get better on the qualifying front, as well as in the racing also. I’m not that great of a qualifier, so this is good for the team, good for Greg and the guys, great for Alex. Alex has really helped our program. Jeff (Gordon) helped it a lot, but Alex has been a great treat for the guys to work with and obviously he is a great driver.”

    The 23-year-old has achieved three top-five and seven top-10 Sprint Cup finishes to date this season. In what may have been his most impressive performance this year, Bowman scored his first Sprint Cup Series pole at Phoenix International Raceway Sunday, leading the most laps (194) and earning a hard fought sixth place finish in the Can-Am 500.

    He was in contention for the win for much of the race but after a pit stop for a caution with 57 laps remaining, Bowman lost the lead after a team decision to take four tires while pitting as some teams stayed on the track or took only two tires. He restarted fifth but with 15 laps to go had advanced to second place. The race went into overtime and on the restart, Matt Kenseth and Bowman made contact. Kenseth hit the wall and Bowman fell back to fifth place. After a second overtime restart, he finished the race in sixth place.

    Bowman described his day as enjoyable but was clearly unhappy that he fell short of a win. He also spoke about the contact with Kenseth.

    “It was a really fun day,” he said. “Greg (Ives, crew chief) and all the guys made great changes all day. We had the best car all day long, really disappointed. I hate that we got into Matt (Kenseth) like that, just really disappointing end to the day, but one of those deals, just a racing deal. I don’t know if his spotter cleared him or what, but I was up against the inside wall when we made contact. It says a lot about Hendrick Motorsports and Greg Ives and the whole Nationwide Chevy team. We were so strong all day, fastest car, but the fastest car didn’t win the race this weekend.

    “Man, it’s just really disappointing. But everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, the Hendrick engine shop, Nationwide, Axalta, it just means so much for them to put faith in me. I don’t think I have ever led a Cup race before and to lead as much as we did and to run like we did today is amazing.”

    Bowman has done an excellent job of showcasing his talent this year and making his presence known on the track but does not have anything lined up for the 2017 season. He says he is “still waiting for the right opportunity to come along.”

    Maybe an endorsement from NASCAR’s most popular driver will help.

     

     

  • Victory Eludes Dominant Bowman at Phoenix

    Victory Eludes Dominant Bowman at Phoenix

    Alex Bowman had a dominant day in the Valley of the Sun from start to finish, but it wasn’t enough for the native son to score his first series victory.

    The weekend started off with a bang for the driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after he claimed his first Sprint Cup Series pole.

    He put on a performance reminiscent of what Kevin Harvick had come to deliver the last few years at Phoenix International Raceway, leading 194 circuits on three different stints.

    He lost the lead for good after a two-car wreck brought out the sixth caution of the race with 56 laps to go with Denny Hamlin opting not to pit, he still played a factor in who won the race.

    On the run to the checkered flag in the final 40 lap, Bowman had the strongest car in the field. He was passing cars with ease and cutting into Matt Kenseth’s lead by the time he made it to second with less than 20 to go, but the almost four-second gap wasn’t shrinking fast enough and his chance at victory were fading.

    Michael McDowell wrecking out with two to go gave him one more shot to earn his first victory.

    On the restart in overtime, however, he got blocked down next to the wall by Kyle Busch and ended up punting Kenseth into the wall, ending his chances at racing for the championship.

    “We had a great car. We took four there and restarted on the bottom twice. Our car didn’t really take off on restarts all day long very well, so had to make our way back up through there, and we got to second at the end and had that caution come out, and didn’t get a terrible restart, and the 18 turned me sideways getting into the corner, and I ‑‑ I don’t know, it almost feels like ‑‑ I almost feel like the 20 thought he was clear because I was against the ‑‑ I wasn’t at the best angle but I was also against the inside wall when we made contact. I guess he said something on the radio that he thought he was clear,” Bowman said in his post-race press conference.

    “I hate it for Matt. You take somebody out like that. I would have raced the hell out of him for the win, but definitely don’t want to do that.”

    He didn’t make much ground on the final restart and came home sixth.

    It still ended up being his best career finish and the 194 laps led were the most of any Hendrick Motorsports driver, other than Jimmie Johnson, since Jeff Gordon at Martinsville Speedway in October of 2014.

  • Bowman Takes the Pole in Phoenix

    Bowman Takes the Pole in Phoenix

    Alex Bowman will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday afternoon after topping the chart in the final round of qualifying in the Valley of the Sun.

    The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet scored the pole for the Can-Am 500 after posting a time of 25.619 and a speed of 140.521 mph.

    “Man, it’s amazing,” Bowman said of getting the pole in Phoenix. “We weren’t really that strong in qualifying trim in practice. I don’t really know where that came from, but I just can’t thank everybody at Hendrick Motorsports enough. To do this in Phoenix, so close to home, means so much to me. We have had such fast racecars we haven’t had an ounce of luck, but to get a pole here means a lot.”

    It’s the first career pole in 80 Sprint Cup Series starts for the native of Tucson, Arizona.

    Kyle Larson will start second in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 25.666 and a speed of 140.263 mph. Chase Elliott will start third in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after posting a time of 25.671 and a speed of 140.236 mph. Joey Logano will start fourth in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford after posting a time of 25.689 and a speed of 140.138. mph. Denny Hamlin will round out the top-five in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 25.701 and a speed of 140.072 mph.

    Kevin Harvick will start sixth in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Austin Dillon will start seventh in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Blaney will start eighth in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Jamie McMurray will start ninth in his No. 1 Ganassi Chevrolet. Matt Kenseth will round out the top-10 in his No. 20 JGR Toyota.

    Carl Edwards will start 11th and Kurt Busch will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    Jimmie Johnson will start 17th and Kyle Busch will round out the Chase drivers in 19th.

    The 40-car field will be comprised of 22 Chevrolet’s, 11 Ford’s and seven Toyota’s.

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  • Bowman taken out in early wreck

    Bowman taken out in early wreck

    CONCORD, N.C. — A great qualifying effort for Alex Bowman turned bad early in the going in the Queen City.

    The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, substituting for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., posted the fastest lap in the second round of qualifying before posting a time fast enough to start second. He was also running either second or third for the first 60 laps.

    On the 62nd circuit, however, Bowman suffered a right-front tire blowout going into turn 3 and slammed into the outside wall. He also collected Casey Mears in the process and brought out the second caution of the race.

    After being released from the infield care center, he was asked what happened.

    “Blew a tire I guess,” Bowman said. It’s really unfortunate. I hate it for these Axalta guys. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports worked so hard. They brought a great race car here, brand new and destroyed it. Really unfortunate, but it’s not anybody’s fault. We didn’t hit anything we just must have run over something.

    He was told that his tire looked like it was going down. When asked why, he said he “didn’t hit anything and it’s nobody’s fault. We just must have run something over. It’s unfortunate and I hate it for all the guys. Everyone at Hendrick Motorsports brought a great car to the race track. Again, it’s unfortunate and we are going to try and get back out there and salvage some spots.”

    When asked what he saw, Mears said he didn’t know what happened to the 88.

    “I just was going into the corner and I saw him come up all of a sudden,” he said. “I don’t know. It’s too bad he didn’t put us out of our misery there. We were having a rough start of it. We were just kind of hanging on and actually those guys were going by us. They either blew a right-front (tire) or had something come loose or something and came up into us.”

    Both drivers left Charlotte. occupying the bottom two spots in the finishing order, with Mears taking the 40th spot.