Not many in motorsports had a worse week than Alex Bowman, who left Charlotte Motor Speedway two weeks ago happy with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates after they secured four of the eight spots in NASCAR’s semifinals.
However, things took a turn when his car was disqualified for not meeting the minimum weight requirements. Bowman found out about the disqualification from a social media post he saw on his phone after returning to his home in North Carolina.
Upset, he threw his phone into his pool, which led to a 911 call because his phone settings indicated he was in danger. This disqualification cost him 20 points and knocked him out of the playoffs just when he was aiming to reach the championship race at Phoenix Raceway, which is near his hometown.
As a result, the final playoff spot went to Joey Logano, a two-time Cup Series champion, who thought he had been eliminated from contention for a third title.
Bowman’s week didn’t get any better. He discovered a broken window in his passenger car and found a leak in his roof that needed fixing.
“It couldn’t happen to anybody else that way. Just a part of life,” Bowman said, reflecting on his journey to replace Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Chevrolet with NASCAR’s top team.
Even after making the playoffs, Bowman has spent the last two months defending his position and reminding everyone that he is under contract to return to Hendrick in 2025, with strong support from his sponsor, Ally.
Now, Ally is upset. Andrea Brimmer, the chief marketing officer, expressed that she was “gutted” for Bowman and the team, stating they have “fought for every point this year and deserve to be moving forward.”
At Las Vegas Motor Speedway over the weekend, Alex Bowman watched his Hendrick teammates William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson continue their championship chase without him. Bowman finished in a solid fifth place, just behind Byron, but there was still a final blow coming his way.
Joey Logano won the race.
So the driver who thought he was out of the playoffs a week ago is now one of the first four to move on to the championship race on November 10. As one of only two two-time active champions in NASCAR, Logano has a chance to become the only three-time active Cup champion in the sport.
Logano was already at home in North Carolina with his wife and kids when he found out that Bowman was struggling to pass technical inspections. He called her from victory lane in Las Vegas to celebrate his surprising turn of events.
“She’s like, ‘Do you believe one week ago at this hour?’ I come walking out of our bedroom, and I said, ‘You’re not going to believe this (expletive).’ Here we are a week later. I told her, ‘You ain’t going to believe this, that we won this one.’ So excited about the opportunity ahead of us.”
NASCAR will now head to Homestead-Miami Speedway and then to Martinsville Speedway in Virginia to determine the final three championship contenders. “Even Year Logano”—his first two titles were in 2018 and 2022—will focus on the championship race with Team Penske and his No. 22 crew for the next two weeks.
“Our focus now moves forward to Phoenix. The next two weeks don’t really matter,” Logano said. “It’s the advantage that we earned. We know what that advantage is worth. It’s worth a lot. Our focus (starting Monday) will be on Phoenix, job to finish.”
As for Bowman? He’s uncertain about how to feel regarding the last three weeks of the season.
“It’s one of those that’s probably going to sting for a while and depending on how the rest of the season goes, it will probably determine how quickly I do or don’t get over it,” Bowman said. “Some things in life, you don’t get over but have to figure out how to move on with your life and keep digging from it.”
