Bowman builds momentum with another top-three finish

Alex Bowman and his Hendrick Motorsports team turned a car that was on the fringe of the top 10 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway into another top-three result. A second consecutive top three, at that.

“It feels good,” Bowman said. “Honestly, just to be having solid days and finishing races after how the start of the season. So, I’m super happy for this Ally (No.) 48 team, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. I’m happy for the (No.) 9 on the win. The Hendrick engine shop did a great job.”

Bowman crossed the line behind teammate Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin. The win was determined in a four-lap dash to the finish. For the restart, Bowman took the inside behind teammate Elliott and once he cleared Chris Buescher off Turn 2, settled into where he would finish.

Bowman’s average running position had been 12th throughout the afternoon.

“Yeah, we got way better from where we unloaded, and it’s definitely momentum headed in the right direction,” he said. “All in all, a good day for us, a big shoutout to [Tyler] Reddick for cutting me a break on the last lap, that could have been bad. So, I’m appreciative to him.

“We just need to be a little bit better there, but we’re definitely headed in the right direction.”

The back-to-back efforts from Talladega Superspeedway to Texas are the best results Bowman and his team have had this season. Of course, they are also the only top 10 finishes they’ve had. Bowman is only four races back from being sidelined for a month from a vertigo diagnosis.

It was a solid weekend with a ninth-place qualifying effort and top five result. And it was the second-most points he’s earned in a race this season.

“I think we made some big gains on our No. 48 Ally Chevrolet from where we unloaded,” Bowman said. “We struggled in practice, but we qualified well. This team chipped away at it all day. There are some things we can definitely clean up. We still need to be better, for sure, but we had a really good Chevy today.

“Proud of the pit crew. They did an awesome job. It’s nice to get this team some good finishes. It’s been tough on them this year, and I’m glad to bring home back-to-back third-place finishes.”

Even better, Bowman is no longer in the basement of the Cup Series point standings, although there is still a long way to go. Bowman moved from 36th to 34th following Sunday’s race.