Alex Bowman, filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr, was running in the top-five during the Bank of America 500, but blew a tire to end his chances for victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway to finish 39th.
This is Bowman’s fifth race driving the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. In his first race at Loudon in July, he was running strong, but had issues resulting in a 26th place finish. At Michigan, Bowman’s bad luck continued with a 30th place finish. At Chicagoland and Loudon in September, his luck was looking up with a 10th and 14th place finish.
However, that luck at Charlotte went south. On lap 63, Bowman blew a right front tire sending him into the turn four wall where he would collect Casey Mears.
“Yeah, we 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,” said Bowman.
When asked about his run, Bowman was proud to have his name out there among the top drivers.
“They knew we were here that is all that matters. There is nothing more I can do, nothing more anybody on the race team can do. They all do a great job and did everything right, just bad luck.”
Despite having disappointing finishes, Bowman is still having fun. “The one thing that I said I was going to do throughout all these races was to make the most of it and to have the most fun I possibly could,”
Bowman was able to score his first top-10 finish in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. Bowman is honored to have the opportunity to drive for Rick Hendrick, and is glad that they have given him a chance.
Bowman will finish out the year driving in the No. 88 Chevy, but will step aside at Martinsville to allow Jeff Gordon the chance to drive the car.
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