48 Alex Bowman
Age: 28 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Greg Ives
Standings: 7th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
BOWMAN AT BRISTOL: Alex Bowman has 11 starts on the .533-mile venue when it is not covered in a layer of dirt. In those starts, he has tallied two top-five finishes and three top 10s.
DIRT STAINS: In the inaugural event on the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt, Bowman started the race seventh and made his way to a race-high second-place on lap 32 before trouble on a late stage one restart left him in 15th. He finished the second stage in 21st after suffering from mechanical issues shortly after the competition caution in that stage. He would ultimately finish the race in 22nd.
PLAYING IN THE DIRT: Bowman has continued to refine his dirt racing skillset in the early parts of the 2022 season for his team, Alex Bowman Racing (ABR). He made three starts in the World of Outlaws series in February. More notably, he qualified for the feature race in his first appearance in the series, an event where 10 drivers did not make the main event. As the year progresses, Bowman will race more dirt races, including upcoming events in Bridgeport, New Jersey, and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.
TO THE FRONT: Bowman is currently tied with six other drivers with four top-10 finishes in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. He is tied with Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, and teammate William Byron. Of those drivers, only Bowman and Byron have wins so far this season. Four drivers are tied for the most with five top-10 finishes apiece including Bowman’s teammate Chase Elliott.
RACK THEM UP: Bowman has garnered the third-most points in stage one of the 2022 season, notching 33 points. He trails teammates Byron (55) and Elliott (34). Across the last six races, Bowman has tallied the fifth-most points in those events, gaining 207 points.
BOX, BOX: The No. 48 Ally Racing team currently holds the 15th-best average four-tire pit stop in the 2022 Cup Series season, clocking in at 12.64 seconds. The five-man pit crew is made up of fueler Jacob Conley, jackman Eric Ludwig, tire carrier Allen Stallings and tire changers Scott Brzozowski (front) and Devin DelRicco (rear).
SIGN OF FUTURE SUCCESS: Through eight races in 2022, Hendrick Motorsports has won four times. Hendrick Motorsports won four of the first eight races in 1995, 1996 and 1997 as well as five of the first eight races in 2007. In the previous instances of winning at least four of the first eight races, a Hendrick Motorsports driver has won the NASCAR Cup Series title.
TAKE ME TO THE LEADER: Hendrick Motorsports has led 833 laps this season – the most in the Cup Series. That total is more than double of the team with the second-most laps led (Team Penske at 405) and more than second and third combined (Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing at 752).
PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES: By leading 397 of the 403 laps in Saturday night’s race at Martinsville Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports posted a new organization-best mark for the largest percentage of laps led in a race. The 98.51% mark eclipsed that of the 95.5% laps led (382 of 400) last year at Dover Motor Speedway for the team.
APPROACHING 2,000: Hendrick Motorsports is nearing its 2,000th top-10 finish in points-paying Cup Series competition. With 1,999 results inside the top 10 since the team was founded in 1984, it is only one away from the milestone. The organization holds the record for the most top-10 finishes in Cup Series history – 600 more than anyone else.
AND 100,000: Since Hendrick Motorsports was founded in 1984, it has led a record 99,232.44 miles in points-paying Cup Series races. The team is less than 800 miles from hitting 100,000 led at NASCAR’s top level. Last season, Hendrick Motorsports led 5,662.77 miles. Through eight races in 2022, it has led 774.96 miles.
RACKING UP THE WINS: Since the start of the 2021 season, Hendrick Motorsports has 21 points-paying wins. That mark is the most among Cup Series teams in that span. During that period, all other teams combined have posted 23 victories. Hendrick Motorsports is also the only team to have each of its drivers win multiple times since the start of last year.
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how he is approaching the Bristol dirt with the Next Gen car: “There are a lot of new challenges with the Gen-seven car. The car is designed to look like a streetcar and has parts that are similar to the production car, so it makes it tough to take it on dirt. The guys at Hendrick Motorsports do a great job of putting together really fast cars and giving me what I need to be competitive every week. We don’t have any notes for the event, but I think some of the changes to even, like making it a night race, will help us put on a better show for the fans. Hopefully, we can get another win this year and take home another cool trophy.”
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on racing at the Bristol dirt layout with the Next Gen car: “Last year, I feel like we had a great car. Alex (Bowman) was complimentary of the car. We had a mechanical issue that took us out of contention but feel we had a shot to win. Obviously, this year we have an entirely new car and new tire package, but the goal is still the same – we want to go to Bristol, have a solid race, and win at ‘The Last Great Colosseum.'”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
