Bowman says health reasons not the driving force in scheduling retirement

A day after announcing his plans, Alex Bowman reiterated that his health was not the main reason that he is choosing to retire after the 2027 season.

Bowman, 33, instead, is ready to do other things with his life. He is ready, in his own words, to be a normal person.

“I don’t think physical health is the No. 1 contributor here in this situation for me,” he said at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of this weekend's Brickyard 400. “Obviously, I’ve had my fair share of injuries, but I still feel like I can do it, and I think through everything we’ve figured out through the course of this season, everybody helping me in the athletic center with PT every day and everything, I think I’m in a good spot there and can continue doing it.

“I think for me, much more of it is things I want to do outside the race car, other goals I have in life, and stuff I want to do. If it was straight up that I can’t do this anymore, it probably would have been this year, but I do feel like I can do it at a high level. Hopefully we can go prove that.”

It was announced Thursday that Bowman signed a one-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports to finish out his career in the No. 48 Chevrolet. It will be his 10th season with the organization and his 12th full year in the series.

Bowman began his career driving for BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin before becoming a Chevrolet simulator driver. Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave Bowman a chance in Hendrick Motorsports equipment by using him as his substitute driver for 10 races in 2016. The car became Bowman’s two years later.

But his career has also been impacted by injuries. He was concussed in 2022 during the Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. There was the broken back from 2023 that Bowman is still feeling the effects of and has to work through every week. And earlier this season, the sudden onset of vertigo during the race at Circuit of the Americas sidelined him for four weeks.

“It’s always been in this timeframe, this three-year block, whether it was ’26, ’27, or ’28,” Bowman said of ending his career. “That is something we’ve talked about for a really long time, and that I’ve always had circled. I think with what went on in March, I feel like in my head I had looked at this year being it quite a bit and talked about that. But I’m trying to make the best decision for me and obviously the best decision for Hendrick Motorsports.

“I think I really want to end on a more positive note than how this year has been; so that gave me a little more motivation to come back and go one more year. I think it’s better for me personally; it’s better for Hendrick Motorsports. It’s been a lot of fun. Obviously, it’s been a dream come true to get to drive for HMS and work with everybody there, and we’re doing our best to end this year strong and have a really strong year next year.”

Bowman described it as a journey, and one that hasn’t gone exactly how he would have hoped. But the silver lining is that Bowman feels he has learned a lot over the years and grown, all while having the opportunity to be teammates with incredible people. And then there is the stat sheet, which while not all what Bowman would like it to be, he still feels proud of.

There are eight career Cup Series wins on the resume, and he has made the postseason seven times. Bowman won in the No. 88, which he took over from Dale Earnhardt Jr., and in the No. 48, which he took over from Jimmie Johnson.

Bowman was in a contract year with Hendrick Motorsports. The one-year extension and announcement leave no doubt about the future, and Bowman was clear about why he wasn’t leaving the door open.

“Because I’m not going to continue racing,” he said. “I would love to end on a really high note, like everything goes perfect and we go win a championship, and I could go walk out there. That would be amazing. That’s not going to make me want to stay. For me, health-wise, mental health-wise, kind of everything, this is what I needed to do that was best for me and things I want to do outside of the car.

“I think also, if it was my choice, I wouldn’t have made a retirement announcement. I would have just raced until the end of next year and disappeared. But that’s not how this sport works, and I think [Hendrick Motorsports vice president of corporate communications] Jesse Essex would have killed me if I tried to do that. … I’m excited to end the questions and go to work.”