48 Alex Bowman
Age: 28 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 9th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
ATL RECAP: On Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Alex Bowman tallied a top-10 finish and continued his climb up the NASCAR Cup Series standings. The 28-year-old driver finished the first stage in seventh and the second stage in 19th en route to a 10th-place result. He fought back from losing a laps due to a pit road penalty and is now ninth in points, just 31 back of leader and teammate Chase Elliott.
UP FRONT: Since the start of the 2018 season, Bowman has eight top-10 finishes on road courses – tied for the fifth-most in the Cup Series. In 2021, the 28-year-old driver placed eighth after leading three laps in the rain-shortened race at Circuit of The Americas. He also notched a ninth-place finish at Sonoma Raceway and a 10th-place result at the Charlotte ROVAL.
RACK ‘EM UP: Bowman accumulated 187 points across seven road course starts in 2021, ranking him as the 10th in points scored in Cup Series road races.
TURNING LEFT: Bowman has 15 starts on road courses in his Cup Series career. In those races, he has amassed one runner-up finish, two top-fives, eight top-10s, and an average result of 11.5. His most recent finish on a road course was the Charlotte ROVAL where he placed 10th.
IVES ON THE ROAD: On Sunday at COTA, Greg Ives will make his 22nd road-course start as a Cup Series crew chief. The Bark River, Michigan, native has two top-five finishes and 10 top-10s from atop the pit box.
HOMETOWN HERO: Parker Winebrenner, aerodynamics engineer for the No. 48 Ally Racing team, will return to his home state this weekend at COTA. A native of Houston, Weinbrenner began working with Ives and Bowman just before the duo’s first win at Chicagoland Speedway in 2019. His motor sports career started when he worked on a Trans Am TA2 Chevrolet Camaro test car in January 2018. Winebrenner went on to work for Napoleon Motorsports and helped in the Pirelli World Challenge Series, which both competed at COTA, before making his way to Hendrick Motorsports.
TRUCKIN’ IN TEXAS: On Saturday, Bowman will strap into the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. HendrickCars.com will serve as the team’s primary sponsor while Ally, Bowman’s full-time sponsor in the Cup Series, will be showcased on the truck’s decklid and lower-rear quarter panels.
THREE OF FIVE: Through five NASCAR Cup Series races thus far in 2022, Hendrick Motorsports has posted three wins – each with a different driver. It is the first time since 1956 (Carl Kiekhafer Racing) that a team has earned three victories with three drivers in the first five races of a season. The earliest a single organization has ever won with four different drivers is race No. 12, which was accomplished in 2017 by Hendrick Motorsports and in 2016 by Joe Gibbs Racing.
ROAD SHOW: Hendrick Motorsports has won 25 points-paying races on road courses, nearly twice the total of any other team in NASCAR Cup Series history. Since the organization was founded in 1984, it has won 29% of the 85 road-course events it has competed in with a record-setting seven different drivers. JGR is the next-best team on road courses with 13 victories.
THE HIGH ROAD: In addition to its 25 victories, Hendrick Motorsports holds the road-course records for Cup Series pole positions (21), stage wins (12), top-five finishes (74), top-10s (130) and laps led (2,020). It has led 828 more laps on road courses than any other team.
TWENTY AND 21: Since the beginning of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports has won 20 points-paying races. During that period, all other teams combined have posted 21 victories.
THE BIG THREE-OH: Hendrick Motorsports has led in each of the last 30 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races. The team holds the all-time record for the most consecutive Cup races led at 74, which occurred between 2007 and 2009. It also holds the series’ second-longest streak of 55 that happened from 1995 to 1997.
SPEAKING OF 30: Drivers under the age of 30 have won the last 11 Cup Series races dating back to last season – something that has never occurred in NASCAR history. Eight of the 11 races have been won by Hendrick Motorsports, which in 2021 became the first team to ever record victories with four different drivers under 30 years old in a single season.
HIGH MILEAGE: Since Hendrick Motorsports was founded in 1984, it has led a record 98,932.113 miles in points-paying Cup Series races. The team is less than 1,068 miles from hitting 100,000 led at NASCAR’s top level. Last season, Hendrick Motorsports led 5,662.77 miles. Through four races in 2022, it has led 474.64 miles, including 217.14 Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on driving in the Truck Series ahead of the Cup Series race: “I am excited to have an opportunity to drive the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports ahead of Sunday’s race. I think any time you can get behind the wheel of a different race car and make laps, it only makes you a better driver. I like putting myself in uncomfortable situations so when I get into my Cup car, I am more relaxed and see things a little bit slower. The ability to slow the race down helps me make better decisions in the moment and ultimately be more competitive and race for more wins.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his expectations for Sunday’s race at COTA: “I’m excited to get to Austin and take another swing at COTA. Obviously, with last year’s race ending short because of the rain, we didn’t get a good base of what the track is like. We finished eighth last year, so hopefully we can improve on that and take home another win this season.”
Ives on Bowman driving a truck on Saturday: “To have Alex get in the truck race will help him get some experience in dry conditions and see how the track evolves as the race progresses. He’s a racer at heart, so I know he is excited for another opportunity to get strapped into a new race car and compete with the best in the series.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
