After Two Straight Third-Place Finishes, Is Alex Bowman on the Verge of Saving His Job at Hendrick Motorsports?

I’ve long said that one good finish in a NASCAR Cup – even the Daytona 500 – means very little, especially when there are 36 races in the season schedule.

But when you put together two strong finishes in a row, well, a potential predetermined outcome may have to be reconsidered by the team owner. Such may be the case with Alex Bowman.

Several fans and media have written Bowman off, claiming that this will be the final year of his nine-year tenure with Hendrick Motorsports – Bowman is in the final year of a three-year contract, and there’s been very little movement on giving him a new deal. But Bowman may have shown Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon that he wants and needs to remain in the Hendrick camp, even though his performance over his nine seasons with HMS has not exactly been very productive.

Although he has eight career wins in his Cup career, the reality is he has managed just one win in his last 145 starts, dating back to 2022. And even though he’s made the Cup playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons, his best finish in any one season has been eighth (which he’s done twice).

It’s no secret that Bowman has the worst performance record of any HMS driver during his nearly decade-long tenure with the team. He was the hand-picked replacement by Dale Earnhardt Jr. when Junior decided to retire after the 2017 season. And other teams might have fired Bowman by now, but Hendrick is a big supporter of Bowman, as is the retired Junior. So they’ve kept him around.

Bowman has another ally in his corner – the Ally Insurance Company, which has been one of his longest-serving sponsors and is signed through the 2028 season. Their financial backing is further guaranteed for two more seasons after 2026. A re-signing by the end of this year, hence, is possible.

But if HMS presents Bowman another contract extension, it will very likely be a two-year deal instead of a three-year script, and for less money than he’s making right now.

If not re-signed by Hendrick, rumors have it that he will go to Spire Motorsports and will be replaced by Kyle Busch at HMS. It would be Busch’s second stint at HMS, where he began his Cup career before moving to Joe Gibbs Racing when HMS signed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to replace Busch.

One of the No. 48 team’s biggest problems is consistency. It often seems that Bowman will have one or two good races in a row, and then he goes back to finishing in the 20s and 30s.

That’s why what he did Sunday at Texas was so crucial to saving his job. Up until last week’s third-place showing at Talladega, and then Sunday’s third-place repeat performance at Texas, Bowman’s best previous finish this season was 18th at Kansas, his second race back after going through a nearly month-long absence due to vertigo.

His finish at ‘Dega was his first top-10 showing since last August. Now he’s had two in a row.

“It feels good,” Bowman said after Sunday’s race. “Honestly, just to be having solid days and finishing races after how the start of the season went. Super happy for this Ally 48 team, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. Happy for the 9 (teammate Chase Elliott) on the win. Hendrick Engine Shop did a great job.

“We got way better from where we unloaded, and definitely momentum headed in the right direction. All in all a good day for us. … (We) just need to be a little bit better, but we’re definitely headed in the right direction.”

Bowman has not yet received a medical waiver from NASCAR to be in the Cup playoffs, but there’s a good reason for that. The Tucson, Arizona native is only 34th in the points standings. His third-place finish at Texas moved him up two spots in the rankings, but he still has to get above the 30th-place mark to be playoff-eligible for the waiver.

And don’t forget that waivers are at NASCAR’s discretion. They could deny him as well.

Right now, heading into this coming Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen, Bowman would be hard-pressed for a good finish on the difficult road course. In nine starts at Watkins Glen, his best showing to date has been 14th (three times).

The NASCAR community is relieved and glad that Bowman has recovered from his vertigo issue. But that doesn’t completely remove the fact that Bowman remains the lowest-performing driver in the Hendrick stable for the last several seasons.

Now, if Bowman were to get lucky and win a race or two in the remaining 25 races, it might ratchet up negotiations on a new deal with HMS.

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