It seems like one of the biggest questions of silly season, every season, is whether Alex Bowman is going to retain his seat in the No. 48 at Hendrick Motorsports.
Well, as of Tuesday, the 33-year-old has nothing to report.
The Tucson, Arizona-native is in his ninth season driving for the winningest organization in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series, and his seventh season driving the famed No. 48 Chevrolet. But could 2026 be his final year in the ride? Bowman says he’d like to figure it out relatively soon.
“We’ve had a lot of different conversations and trying to figure out what the best thing to do is,” Bowman said Tuesday. “I would think sooner rather than later, for sure. But really, I guess I haven’t thought about, like it hasn’t been the first thing on my mind by any means. I’ve really just been working hard at get things pointed in the right direction.”
Things haven’t been easy for Bowman, either, in the NASCAR Cup Series. In the last five years, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has missed a combined 12 races with three different injuries – five races in 2022 with a concussion, three in 2023 with a broken back, and four this Spring with vertigo.
“I just want to make the right decision for myself, I guess, and it’s been, certain things haven’t gone how we want them to go, and honestly, I’m super blessed to be at a point in my life where I don’t have to do this forever, and yeah, so I got to make the right decision, and I want Hendrick Motorsports to make the right decision, and everyone to be on board with what whatever we do.”
Just to add to everything else already weighing on Bowman’s shoulders, the performance of the No. 48 Ally Financial Chevrolet hasn’t been up to snuff with his teammates, especially after Bowman has returned from the injury – scoring only two top-fives and three top-10s in his 11 races back in the seat following a bout with vertigo.
Despite that, Bowman doesn’t feel he’s racing for his job.
“I don’t feel like I’m racing for my job or anything like that, or any means.” Bowman said. “Really just week to week focused on trying to get pointed back in the right direction.”
It’s been an off year all around for Hendrick Motorsports, who collectively, between its four entries, has only been to Victory Lane twice – both wins by Chase Elliott – due to the adjustment period with the new Chevrolet Camaro nose.
Should Alex Bowman decide to step away from the No. 48, or the NASCAR Cup Series as a whole, Hendrick Motorsports seems to have two young, capable replacements in its sights with NASCAR Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch (who would need to be bought out of a contract with Trackhouse Racing) or NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Corey Day.
It just all depends on what Bowman, Rick Hendrick, and Jeff Gordon are wanting to do.
