Alex Bowman has opted out of his O’Reilly race at Nashville, and Kyle Larson has stepped up to drive instead. The reasoning behind Bowman’s exit remains unknown, though the HMS driver has been dealing with a lot lately.
Bowman missed four races this year due to a sudden onset of Vertigo. He experienced the symptoms midway through COTA and retired from the race.
Thanks for the submission!
The No.48 driver recently announced that his dog, Finn, has been diagnosed with cancer that ‘has spread pretty quickly’. Back in 2023, Bowman broke his back in a sprint car accident, and he lost his other dog, Roscoe, the same year.
NASCAR reporter Austin Konenski theorised on the reasoning behind Bowman’s absence on Saturday.
“Alex Bowman was supposed to drive the No. 88 for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR O’Reilly race at Nashville. I wonder if Bowman wants to focus on Cup. Finn (his dog) was diagnosed with cancer as well, he announced. Bowman has a lot on his plate. I wouldn’t read too much into it,” he wrote.
Alex Bowman scored a mid-pack result in the recently concluded Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He finished 17th, while his teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron placed inside the top-10.
Driving for JR Motorsports, Larson has two O’Reilly wins this season. He has a runner-up and a top-5 finish in two more races. To his credit, the No. 5 driver last won a Cup race at Nashville in 2021.
Alex Bowman breaks HMS curse at Talladega
Alex Bowman had an eventful return to Cup racing after his vertigo diagnosis. He was involved in a four-car crash at Bristol, placed 18th in Kansas, and scored two straight podiums at Talladega and Texas.
NASCAR classics shared a unique stat on Bowman’s Talladega result, writing,
“Yesterday marked the first time the No. 48 car has finished third-or-better at @TALLADEGA since 2015, when @JimmieJohnson finished second at the track.”
Alex Bowman, meanwhile, was relieved to finish without any issues.
“Glad to get out of here clean. Yeah, we had a great Ally 48 Chevy all day. Felt like we played the race the best we could kind of with the situations we were given. Yeah, had a good day on pit road. Hendrick engine shop did a great job,” he said in a post-race interview.
Rumours have been swirling about Alex Bowman’s place in HMS. Many believe 20-year-old prodigy Corey Day will eventually replace him in the No.48 Chevy. The young driver has already scored two wins this season, at Talladega and Dover, respectively.
Denny Hamlin weighed in and called the potential move a ‘big leap’ for Day. However, he explained how it’s best to rip the band-aid and get him used to Cup machinery as soon as possible.
Edited by Vignesh Kanna
