Alex Bowman is one of the hottest drivers in NASCAR right now. He is on a run that consists of three consecutive 2nd place finishes. When Alex began this string of 2nd place finishes at Talladega, he put up a stat that is simply remarkable. He has now finished in every possible position to finish in all the way from 2nd-43rd, but he still has yet to earn that first victory.
Can Bowman Keep This Up and Win?
Three 2nd place finishes in a row is nothing to feel bad about. Something has clearly changed with the 88 team. In the first 9 races of the season, Bowman did not have a single top 10 and he sat 21st in the points. He had a best finish of 11th (Daytona and Las Vegas). The 88 car was running anywhere from 15th-20th place every week. Something needed to change or the Alex and his team were gonna just fade away into irrelevancy.
Talladega
This stretch of 2nd place finishes started at Talladega where he finished 2nd to teammate Chase Elliott. Bowman really felt like he could have won the race if it had not been for the caution coming out half way through the final lap.
Felt good going for the 🏁! Really thought we had it there. Happy for @chaseelliott and all of @TeamHendrick. We’re headed in the right direction 👍🏼
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) April 28, 2019
Dover
Then at Dover, Bowman had a strong car and worked his way through the field and almost won stage 2. If it wasn’t for Martin Truex Jr., Bowman would have most certainly ran away with the race. After the race, Bowman was definitely proud of what his team was able to do. Running well at Talladega us one thing, but to transfer the same results to a track like Dover is a good sign for the 88 team.
Well I guess not all Mondays suck 😜 would love to be headed home with a trophy but feeling good after coming from the back to the front. Really proud of this team 🤘🏼@nationwide88
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) May 6, 2019
Kansas
This past weekend at Kansas, Bowman had one of the best cars, if not the best car. Bowman led 63 laps and was leading with about 10 to go when Brad Keselowski used lap cars to get by Bowman. Bowman slipped to third on older tires, but got back up to finish second after the overtime restart. After this race, Bowman was devastated but he still continues to hold his head high as he moved back up to 12th in the points.
I’ve never wanted something so bad. Not going to lie, this one hurts. My team has worked like crazy though to get us to where we’re at, and I’m proud of what we’ve done. Going to keep after it to get that win we deserve 👊🏼
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) May 12, 2019
Alex is on the brink of taking home his first cup victory. Right now it seems like he has the cars to go win and he certainly has the mentality to go win a race. It almost feels the same way as it did for Chase Elliott. Elliott came close many times before sealing the deal last season at Watkins Glen. Elliott then went on a tear and won 3 more races in 24 starts. If he breaks through and gets his first win, he could certainly do the same thing and prove that Dale Jr. made the right decision by picking Bowman to replace him.
All Star Race
Bowman goes into this weekend’s all star race on the open entry list. He will need to race his way in by winning a stage in the open or by the fan vote. If Bowman gets into the all star race, he could pull a Michael Waltrip in 1996 and win the all star race before getting his first career cup victory.
Conclusion
So, while it is easy to say that Alex is a star in the making. It may be a little early to say he’s the real deal just yet. One thing is for sure though this young man is showing as of late the potential that people like Dale Jr. and Mr. Hendrick believed he had to drive a race car.
