“I’m really just ready to be a normal person.”
Alex Bowman is retiring from NASCAR Cup Series competition at the end of next season, which will end a decade-long tenure for the Tucson, Arizona-native as a driver for NASCAR’s winningest organization, Hendrick Motorsports.
Bowman first joined the team as an interim driver for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2016, and when NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver retired after 2017, he got the nod to run full-time in the No. 88. When seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson retired post-2020, the team was restructured, and Bowman moved to replace Johnson in the No. 48.
Now, ironically enough, Bowman and Johnson will run their final DAYTONA 500s together next February.
While Bowman’s tenure with NASCAR’s most successful organization has produced some great successes, there have been some trials and tribulations for the 33-year-old, as well. In the last half-decade, Bowman has been sidelined three times – from a concussion in 2022, a broken back in 2023, and vertigo in early 2026. When speaking to the media Friday at Indianapolis, Bowman wanted to make clear, though, the physical ailments aren’t the reason why he’s retiring.
“I think for me, it’s always been in like this timeframe. I would say this three-year block, whether it was 2026, 2027, or 2028, and that’s something we’ve talked about for a really long time, something I’ve always had circled,” Bowman said.
Bowman has been honest, this year, about the fact that he didn’t know for sure if he’d ever get to return to the driver’s seat when he was dealing with vertigo earlier this year, and, for a while, that led him to believe he’s be retiring after this year (2026), but on Friday, he named two main reasons why he chose to stay on another year.
“I think with what went on in March, I feel like in my head I looked at this year being it quite a bit, and talked about that, but yeah, just trying to make the best decision for me and for Hendrick Motorsports,” Bowman said. “I think I really want to end on a more positive note than kind of how this year has been, so that gave me a bit of motivation to come back and go one more year. I think it is better for me personally, but for Hendrick Motorsports.”
The eight-time NASCAR Cup Series race-winner wants people to know, though, and said it several times when speaking with the media on Friday, that this isn’t an injury-driven decision and that is reflected in his choosing to run another season. This is about leaving his career on his own terms.
“I don’t think physical health is a number one contributor here in this situation for me. Obviously, I’ve had my fair share of injuries, but I can still do it. I still feel like I can do it and I think with everything that we’ve figured out through the course of the season, everyone helping me in the athletic center with the PT every day, I think I’m in a good spot here and can continue doing it.”
“I think for me, much more of it is things I want to do outside of the race car; other goals I have in life and stuff I want to do. If it was straight up like, I can’t do this anymore, it probably would have been this year. But I do feel like I can continue to do it at a high level. Hopefully, we can go prove that.”
Bowman was crystal-clear on his intentions for 2027 – compete at a high-level, win races, compete for a championship, and no, if the 33-year-old so happened to hoist the Bill France Cup on the championship stage next November, that would not sway his decision to return to NASCAR in 2028.
“I would love to end on a really high note. Like, I mean, everything goes perfect, and we go win a championship, and I can walk out that way… that would be amazing, right? That’s not going to make me want to stay. I think for me, health-wise, mental health-wise, kind of everything – this is what I needed to do that was best for me and things I want to do outside of the car.”
If it were up to Alex Bowman, this announcement wouldn’t have happened – instead, he would have continued driving until the end of next year and driven off into the sunset without a care in the world, but Bowman admitted Friday “that’s not how this sport works”.
Jeff Andrews, President and General Manager of Hendrick Motorsports, says there are definitely opportunities for Bowman to remain within the Hendrick family, via Hendrick Performance, so while he won’t be involved in the company’s on-track endeavours, the bond he’s built with Rick Hendrick and those at the highest executive levels of Hendrick Motorsports will remain intact for the future.
