https://www.hendrickmotorsport...Editor's note: This is part of a series from NASCAR.com reviewing the top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in reverse order of the 2025 final standings.
- Driver: Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Crew chief: Blake Harris
- Final 2025 ranking: 13th
- Key stats: six top fives, 16 top 10s
How 2025 ended: Bowman made the Cup Series Playoffs for the second year in a row, earning the final spot available on points.
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Best race: Suffering a major crash in the previous race at Michigan International Speedway, Bowman participated in the inaugural Cup Series event in Mexico City in obvious pain. Not feeling 100%, Bowman overcame a 29th-place starting position to finish fourth at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, earning what was his third top five of the season. It began a streak of seven top-11 results over the next eight races. Odd timing for sure, but Mexico City paved the way toward his 2025 playoff spot.
Other season highlights: Bowman's stellar summer certainly stood out, but his superb start to the season was equally impressive. The Tucson, Arizona, native earned top 10s in five of the first six races, including a runner-up at Homestead-Miami Speedway after earning the pole. During the summer months, he finished third twice and added a second-place at Richmond Raceway, nearly besting Austin Dillon for the win. Down the stretch, he finished seventh at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, adding another plus result to what's historically been one of his best tracks.
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Quotable: “The biggest strength is the momentum that we have behind us … the year that we’ve been able to put together, the speed that we’ve had at some race tracks that I’ve been pretty bad at before. At Homestead(-Miami Speedway), we’ve never been good and we almost won. Richmond, we’ve been pretty bad with the Next Gen car, and we were strong there. So, I think that shows me that we can go to places that we haven’t been good at before and be really strong.”
Looking ahead: Bowman will return to Hendrick Motorsports in 2026 for his ninth full-time campaign with the organization.