Calling Alex Bowman a respectable risk to win the 2024 NASCAR Cup Sequence championship would’ve been laughable as little as three weeks in the past.
Certain, he scored 12 top-10s within the first 21 races, together with a win in Chicago that clinched a playoff berth. However he failed to complete inside the highest 15 over the ultimate 5 races of the common season.
Going into the playoff opener at Atlanta on Sept. 8, Bowman hadn’t scored a top-15 since Pocono on July 14 and had little or no momentum to talk of.
That every one modified in Hampton, Ga., the place Bowman completed fifth to open his playoff run. An 18th-place run at Watkins Glen wasn’t spectacular, however 12 stage factors ensured he had a large cushion to the lower line at Bristol.
Because it turned out, Bowman would not must make the most of his cushion, qualifying first, ending ninth and scoring 41 factors to simply advance to the second spherical of the playoffs.
Momentum has immediately are available in bunches for the No. 48 group and there is a good purpose for Bowman to be assured heading into the Spherical of 12. A spherical comprised of Kansas, Talladega and the Charlotte Roval — three of the wackiest tracks on the schedule — evokes confidence in few groups, however Bowman is a uncommon exception.
Bowman completed seventh at Kansas within the spring and he hasn’t completed worse than eleventh on the facility because the fall of 2021. A fair higher stat? Bowman’s worst end at Kansas since becoming a member of Hendrick Motorsports is 18th. He has 9 top-10s on the 1.5-mile observe in 17 begins.
As it’s for each driver within the subject, Talladega has been hit and miss for Bowman. Nonetheless, he completed fifth on the observe in April and has three top-13 finishes in his final 4 races on the Alabama behemoth.
Bowman’s ace within the gap, nonetheless, would be the Charlotte Roval on Oct. 12. The street course-oval hybrid is among the latest tracks on the circuit, however Bowman has figured it out. In 5 begins, he boasts two top-fives, 5 top-10s and a mean end of 6.4. Nothing is ever assured in NASCAR, but when Bowman enters the Spherical of 12 cutoff race at a deficit, he’ll doubtless make issues attention-grabbing on the lower line.
To win the championship, although, advancing to the Spherical of 8 is not sufficient. The penultimate spherical of the playoffs consists of Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville. Bowman boasts victories at each Las Vegas and Martinsville, although he is had problem at Homestead, solely ending inside the highest 10 twice in eight begins.
And Bowman’s house observe of Phoenix has been none too type to the Tucson, Ariz., native over time. Bowman solely has one top-10 at NASCAR’s championship venue since becoming a member of Hendrick full-time in 2018, but when he makes it to the Championship 4, something is feasible.
With momentum behind him and a robust array of tracks awaiting the No. 48 group within the Spherical of 12, do not be stunned if Bowman continues to be standing when the circuit heads to Las Vegas —or if he enters Phoenix with an opportunity to win his first title.
