48 ALEX BOWMAN
Age: 31 (April 25, 1993)
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Resides: Concord, North Carolina
Crew Chief: Blake Harris
Standings: 9th
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
DOVER DOWNLOW: Alex Bowman made his 300th start in the NASCAR Cup Series last weekend at Dover Motor Speedway. The 31-year-old driver spent the majority of the race in the top 10. Approaching the end of the second stage, Bowman raced from the runner-up position, competing for the stage win with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson. Upon the checkered flag at the “Monster Mile,” Bowman finished eighth for his second straight top-10 result.
MOVING UP THE STANDINGS: Following the 11th race of the season, Bowman gained a spot in the Cup Series driver points standings, currently ranking ninth, 108 points behind the leader, Larson. Bowman has four top-five finishes this year, placing him in a six-way tie for second with teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron. It is also the driver of the No. 48’s most top-fives through 11 races in a season. The Tucson, Arizona, native has also earned six top-10s, which ranks tied for third-most in the series with two competitors and it is also his second-most top-10 results at this point in a season (his most are seven in 2022). Bowman holds the eighth-best average finish (13.64) among drivers who have started every points-paying race.
CRUNCHING KANSAS NUMBERS: Kansas Speedway has been one of Bowman’s strongest tracks in the Cup Series. In 16 starts, he has three top-five finishes, including a runner-up finish in the spring of 2019. These results place the 1.5-mile track in a four-way tie (alongside Bristol Motor Speedway, Circuit of The Americas and Las Vegas Motor Speedway) for housing Bowman’s second-most top-five finishes at a single venue in the Cup Series behind Dover (five). Bowman’s eight top-10 finishes are his most at any track on the schedule. Additionally, he has led the field for 183 laps at “The Sunflower State” track, his third-most laps led at any track, trailing only Charlotte Motor Speedway (228) and Phoenix Raceway (195).
THROWBACK REVEALED: On Tuesday, Ally released the No. 48 team’s scheme for the “Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR” at Darlington Raceway. The No. 48 Ally Throwback Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will compete at the South Carolina track on Sunday, May 12. The blue and yellow scheme pays tribute to the early seasons of the championship-winning, NASCAR Hall of Fame duo of driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus in the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet. The scheme celebrates this iconic car number’s past and the success that has followed during Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary in the sport’s premier series.
PIT ROAD ALLIES: The Ally Racing pit crew moved up a spot to claim the sixth-fastest average four-tire stop this season (11.186 seconds). The five-person crew is composed of Andrew Bridgeforth (rear-tire changer), Jacob Conley (fueler), Brandon Grier (tire carrier), Allen Holman (jackman) and Donnie Tasser (front-tire changer).
CLOSE TO HOME: Conley, the team’s gasman, is from Omaha, Nebraska, and considers both Kansas Speedway and Iowa Speedway his home tracks on the circuit. Both tracks are approximately two and a half hours from his hometown. The 34-year-old played four years of collegiate football at Doane University in Crete, Nebraska, before being recruited by the Hendrick Motorsports pit crew department. Conley has been with the 14-time championship-winning organization for 12 years and this year marks his eighth season with the No. 48 team. Outside of racing, Conley enjoys spending time with his wife, three kids and two rescue dogs.
FIRST LAP RETURNS: Ally’s First Lap program returns this weekend in Kansas. In its second year, the program focuses on introducing motorsports to new fans. In honor of May being Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Ally will host members of the National Association of Asian American Professionals’ Kansas City chapter this weekend at the track. These first-time race-goers will receive a tour of the garage and the No. 48 hauler, an exclusive pre-race experience, meet Bowman and other Hendrick Motorsports key personnel and much more.
ADOPT A PET IN KANSAS CITY: Looking to adopt a fluffy friend? Visit the Pet Resource Center of Kansas City this weekend, located less than a 30-minute drive from the track. For a fourth consecutive year, Bowman and Ally are supporting Best Friends Animal Society and their vast network of partners. The pair is committed to a combined weekly donation of $4,800 to a Best Friends network partner local to each weekend’s race.
FABULOUS 40: In 2024, Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Among the categories that the organization holds the NASCAR Cup Series record for are all-time wins (306), poles (250), laps led (80,649) and championships (14). Their next top-five finish will be its 1,250th and mark the first time that a team has reached that milestone.
HENDRICK HOMECOMING: On May 24 and 25, Hendrick Motorsports will hold “Hendrick Homecoming.” The free fan event, taking place over the same weekend as the Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500, will celebrate the organization’s 40th anniversary and feature autograph sessions with past and present drivers, games, displays, giveaways and more. For more information on the schedule of appearances (as they are announced) and how fans can register to enter the raffle for autograph sessions, click here.
WINNING TRIO: In 2024, William Byron (three wins), Chase Elliott (one win) and Kyle Larson (one win) have combined to tally five wins through the first 11 races of the season. The Concord, North Carolina, based squad has won at least five races in a year in 22 of the last 24 seasons. The five-victory start to this year matches the team’s second-best start (in 1997 and 2022), with 2007’s eight wins through 11 races as the best start to a campaign in organizational history.
SCORING STAGE WINS: Since the advent of stage racing in 2017, Hendrick Motorsports has two of the three drivers that have recorded six stage wins through the first 11 races of a season. Byron earned six stage wins in 2023 and Larson joined that list with a stage victory at Dover Motor Speedway last Sunday. No driver has ever had seven stage wins through 12 races.
PIT POWER: Based on Racing Insights data, all four Hendrick Motorsports pit crews rank in the top six among Cup Series teams for the fastest average four-tire pit stop. The No. 9 pit crew tops the board (10.750 seconds), followed by the No. 24 pit crew in third (10.980 seconds), the No. 5 pit crew in fourth (10.983 seconds) and the No. 48 pit crew is sixth (11.186 seconds).
POWER IN THE PLAINS: With eight wins, the team is tied for the most victories among all Cup Series organizations at Kansas Speedway. Team vice chairman Jeff Gordon won the first race at the track in 2001 and earned three wins in total at the 1.5-mile oval. Jimmie Johnson also posted three wins at the Kansas City, Kansas, venue. Elliott and Larson each have one triumph. The team’s 2,116 laps out front at the facility are also the best among all teams in the series.
HEY HEY HEY: Last year in the two races at Kansas, the team tallied a series-best three top-five finishes, six top-10s and 246 laps led. Larson finished in the top five in both events, while Elliott placed in the top 10 in each race. Byron scored a pole and a top-five finish in the spring, while Alex Bowman earned a top-10 in the fall. Larson (81) and Elliott (71) ranked third and fifth, respectively, in points scored.
KICKING IT AT KANSAS: Kansas has hosted four Cup Series races since the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022. In that span, Larson is one of two drivers to finish inside the top 10 in each race. Bowman has finished in the top 10 in all three races he’s run — he missed the spring race last year due to an injury. Over those four races, Larson has the most laps led (213) and Bowman has the third-most circuits out front (107). Since 2022, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are in the top 10 of average finish at the 1.5-mile track (among drivers with more than one start) — Larson is second (4.00), Bowman is third (7.66), Byron is fifth (10.00) and Elliott is 10th (13.25). When it comes to points per race, the quartet is also all in the top 10 at Kansas — Larson ranks second (38.5), Bowman is sixth (33), Elliott holds down seventh (32.5) and Byron sits 10th (30.5).
NEXT GEN NUMBERS: Team owner Rick Hendrick’s seven wins on 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen car lead all organizations in the Cup Series, with the next closest teams having three triumphs. Two of those victories have come in both races this season on 1.5-mile tracks, with Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Elliott at Texas Motor Speedway. Since 2022, Larson has a series-best three wins on 1.5-mile tracks, while Byron has had two victories and they are two of the four drivers with multiple victories on that track length. Bowman and Elliott have each had one triumph on this track length in this period. Over the last 11 races on 1.5-milers, Larson and Byron are the only repeat winners. In addition, Byron (600) and Larson (592) rank one-two in points earned on 1.5-milers in the Next Gen era.
SWEEP SENSATIONS: In four of Hendrick Motorsports’ seven Next Gen wins on 1.5-mile tracks, a driver has swept the stages en route to the win. Larson did this in all three of his victories on 1.5-mile tracks (Homestead-Miami Speedway in October of 2022 and Las Vegas in October of 2023 and March of 2024) and Byron accomplished it in one of his wins (Las Vegas in March of 2023).
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the roots of his success at Kansas: “Kansas (Speedway) was one of the first intermediate tracks I got to race at way back in the ARCA (Menards Series). I got a lot of laps there and for whatever reason, have been pretty naturally successful there right off the bat, even in the (NASCAR) Cup (Series) car. Obviously, we haven’t won there, but we’ve had a lot of good days there. I’m looking forward to getting back to Kansas. It’s a fun racetrack that I enjoy going to.”
Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the team’s momentum heading to Kansas: “I think our team has had some good intermediate runs this year. Our No. 48 Ally Racing team has carried mostly good momentum the past couple of months and we don’t expect anything different this weekend at Kansas (Speedway). I’d say Kansas is easily one of Alex (Bowman)’s top-five (performing) tracks. I know he really enjoys going there, has had some good runs and led some laps. We expect to go compete in the top five this weekend and aim for a shot to win.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
