DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Alex Bowman has turned the page from a tough 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season that was a tale of two years wrapped up in one.
He started the season strong with six top-10 finishes, a 7.1 average finish and sat atop the point standings through seven races. After a fractured vertebra sidelined him for a month, Bowman and the 48 team struggled to regain their footing. The group ultimately missed the playoffs and finished 20th in points.
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But a new season brings a new opportunity. The 30-year-old driver finished sixth in the exhibition Clash at the Coliseum to start the month and he will take the grid from the seventh spot for Monday’s DAYTONA 500 (4 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio [Channel 90]).
"We had a lot go on last year throughout the year, so being able to reset from that is good for us," Bowman said. "Our team is in a great spot – a couple of changes and I’m in a really good spot heading into this year. Looking forward to getting to work. These first two races are a bit interesting – a lot can happen that’s outside of your control. We’re going to go control the things we can and try to make the most of those things and move on."
The race after the opening superspeedway package duo of the DAYTONA 500 and Atlanta Motor Speedway is one that Bowman has his eye on – Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 3. He has one win there (in March 2022) and his third-place run there last March was part of a sweep of the top-three spots by Hendrick Motorsports. (One of three occurrences in team history.)
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"Going back to Las Vegas is important for us," Bowman said. "It’s been one of my better racetracks throughout the years and just looking forward to trying to make up for last fall, for sure."
The 2024 season marks Bowman’s second season with crew chief Blake Harris. The two got off to the aforementioned hot start in 2023 – Bowman’s best start in the Cup Series. Among those strong results to open last season was a fifth-place finish in the DAYTONA 500, which is Bowman’s best result in "The Great American Race." While his streak of six front-row starts was snapped on Wednesday night, Bowman used a third-place run in the first Duel at Daytona race to lock up a top-10 starting spot as he will roll off the grid in seventh.
As a company, Hendrick Motorsports has not won the prestigious race in 10 years with Dale Earnhardt Jr. recording the last victory in the event in 2014.
"I want to be the guy that changes that, but want to put Hendrick Motorsports in the best position with all four of our cars to get there," Bowman said of snapping the team’s drought in the season-opening crown jewel race. "The DAYTONA 500 is a huge deal and we want to go get a trophy."
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