48 Alex Bowman
Age: 30 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 21st
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
EYES FORWARD: With just nine races left in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, Alex Bowman heads to his favorite track. The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has three top-five finishes, seven top-10s and 183 laps led in 15 starts at Kansas Speedway. In his last start there (in 2022), Bowman finished fourth and scored a stage win. His 107 laps led in the last five Kansas races are the third-most in that span.
BOWMAN ON 1.5-MILERS: Bowman has 76 starts at tracks that are 1.5 miles in length through his Cup Series career. During those races, the 30-year-old driver has tallied two wins (Chicagoland Speedway in 2019 and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2022), 12 top-five finishes, 24 top-10s and 588 laps led.
BEST IN SHOW: Bowman has the fourth-best average finish on 1.5-mile tracks this season. In his two starts on that track length, the Tucson, Arizona, native has an average of 7.50 after notching a third-place finish at Las Vegas in March and a 12th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. He missed the spring Kansas race with a fractured vertebra.
SET FOR THE RESTART: The 31-year-old driver ranks fifth-best on restarts in 2023, according to data from Racing Insights. That mark is second-best among the Hendrick Motorsports quartet, as teammate Kyle Larson is second in this statistical category.
HONORING A CANCER HERO: This Sunday, the No. 48 Ally Chevy will have a special guest riding along for the 400-mile event. For this year’s Honor a Cancer Hero initiative, Kenneth Chase – who was nominated by his grandson Brendon Harmon – will have his name above the door. Chase was an avid Hendrick Motorsports fan who was described as someone who “worked his tail off to provide for his family.” Chase, who passed away in August 2020 from cancer, was a Bowman fan and enjoyed watching the driver each year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
DAY ‘N’ NITE: The No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will adorn two versions of its primary scheme during the 2023 Cup Series season. The No. 48 Ally Chevy “day” scheme will host a white base with bright plum, grapefruit, and seafoam stripes down the side. This version of the primary scheme will appear at races that take place during the day. When the lights come on over the racetrack, the black-based No. 48 Ally Chevy “night” scheme will sport a similar design to its daytime counterpart. This weekend, the No. 48 machine will have the white-based “day” scheme. Check out all the angles of the new look here.
SAVE THEM ALL: Bowman and primary partner Ally are teaming up this year to bring back the Best Friends Animal Society donation effort. This week, the duo will make charitable contributions to Leavenworth County Humane Society Inc., which serves Lansing, Kansas. Bowman and Ally will donate $4,800 to Best Friends and Leavenworth County Humane Society. Ally will increase its donation to $10,000 if the No. 48 team wins.
CLOSING IN ON 300: Following Kyle Larson’s win at Darlington Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports is just one points-paying victory away from its milestone 300th win in the NASCAR Cup Series. Twenty drivers have combined to reach the organization’s current total of 299, which is the most Cup Series wins by any team. With eight points-paying victories in 2023, the team has posted its 36th multi-win season in the Cup Series while maintaining a streak of at least two per season for the past 30 years. The organization has gone to victory lane at more racetracks (31) than any other active team.
MILESTONE MOMENTS HERE AND ON THE HORIZON: Larson’s win also marked the 500th national series victory for the Hendrick Motorsports engine shop. Another milestone is within reach for the company. At 245 pole awards, the team is just five away from 250 at the Cup level.
PLAYOFF LOWDOWN: The 2023 season marks the 20th year with playoffs in NASCAR. Including this year, Hendrick Motorsports has had at least two drivers compete in the postseason in 18 straight seasons and in 19 of the 20 postseason years. Both marks are the most of all teams. William Byron (five wins) and Larson (three wins) are in the 16-driver field. In addition, the Nos. 5, 9 and 24 teams are battling for the owner championship. Larson and the No. 5 team are locked into the Round of 12 with his Darlington triumph.
CHAMPIONSHIP COUNT: The Rick Hendrick-owned team has a series-best 14 Cup Series championships. NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2024 inductee Jimmie Johnson accounts for half of those with seven (2006-10, 2013 and 2016). NASCAR Hall of Famer and team vice chairman Jeff Gordon racked up four titles (1995, 1997-98 and 2001). NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte (1996), Chase Elliott (2020) and Larson (2021) each have one championship for the team. Nine of those titles have come in the playoff era (2004-present).
RECORD SETTERS: Hendrick Motorsports has posted a series-best 56 wins in the playoffs. Johnson has the most with 29 victories. Among the current driver lineup, Elliott and Larson top the board with seven wins apiece in the playoffs followed by Alex Bowman with one.
POWER IN THE PLAINS: With eight wins, the team is tied for the most victories among all Cup Series organizations at Kansas Speedway. Gordon won the first race at the track in 2001 and earned three in total at the 1.5-mile oval. Johnson also posted three wins at the Kansas City, Kansas, venue. Elliott and Larson each have one triumph as well. The team’s 1,970 laps out front at the facility are also the best among all teams in the series.
HEY HEY HEY: Each of Hendrick Motorsports’ four full-time drivers are in the top nine for laps led in the past five races at Kansas. Larson’s mark of 376 laps is the best in the series over that time, while Bowman (107) ranks third, Byron (101) is fifth and Elliott (57) has the ninth-most.
SPRING REWIND: In this year’s spring race at Kansas, Larson led a race-high 85 laps and was leading on the final lap before contact took him out of the top spot. He finished second in the 267-lap race. Byron won the pole position and finished third. Elliott notched a seventh-place finish, while Bowman missed the race due to injury.
NEXT GEN NUMBERS: In the Next Gen car on 1.5-mile tracks, Hendrick Motorsports has three wins. The most recent of those victories came in March with Byron at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Since the start of the 2022 season, Byron (383) and Larson (366) rank second and third in points scored on 1.5-mile tracks.
MILE-AND-A-HALF MUSCLE: So far in 2023, there have been three races on 1.5-mile tracks (Las Vegas, Kansas and Charlotte Motor Speedway), Byron (2.00) has the best average finish in those events and Bowman has the fourth best (7.50), although he has only ran in two of those races. Across those three races, the team has one win, six top-five finishes, seven top-10s, one pole and 439 laps led.
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his outlook for Kansas: “I really like Kansas (Speedway). It’s one of the mile-and-a-half tracks that has multiple grooves and the repave aged really well. I have always had good speed going there and statistically it’s one of my best tracks, so we are definitely looking forward to that track. Our notebook is good there and the No. 48 team has been building really fast race cars. I am excited to get there and try to get our first win there.”
Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on preparing for Kansas with Bowman: “This Sunday is another weekend where Alex (Bowman) and I are getting our first look at a track together, but that isn’t something that discourages us. We faced the same situation at Darlington (Raceway) and had a tough night but were able to put together a really good plan to bounce back from some tough situations. This weekend, we get to go to his best track and take a swing at a place he feels really good at, which is exciting. The notebook Hendrick Motorsports has for this weekend has been good. If we just keep our same routine and execute where we know we can, there is no reason we can’t go fight for a win this Sunday.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
