He scored a solid victory on the track, snapping a frustrating 80-race winless streak by passing Tyler Reddick to win on the two.2-mile, 12-turn course through Grant Park in downtown Chicago.
For the second time in a row, the race was stopped as a consequence of darkness, with teams having to endure an hour and 45-minute rain delay on the second stage.
Wet-weather tires were again utilized in the race, and it was the choice by Bowman’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team to maintain them moderately than switch to recent slicks that contributed to the victory.
Time matters
The win couldn’t have come at a greater time for the 31-year-old Tucson, Arizona native for a couple of reasons. The most evident is that he’s already within the 2024 playoffs and is not any longer the one Hendrick driver and not using a win.
“It wasn't a lot of fun. We won four races in '21. We won straight in '22. Then we had a tough summer in '22 and then we got back into shape and then I got hurt and we started '23 real fast and I got hurt again,” Bowman said after the race.
“Yeah, it's really tough. Obviously we now have all of the tools we’d like to win, and our teammates have been really good throughout. But we just couldn't put it together.
“To be honest, the last month has been very frustrating for us. We had a lot of things out of our control, it cost us a lot of points and it was really frustrating.”
Race Winner Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Ally Chevrolet Camaro
Photo: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsports images
Despite not having a single win, he was still eighth within the series standings at the tip of May and had a solid likelihood of constructing the playoffs based on his points.
However, since then, having only finished one higher than 14th, he has lost loads of ground going into the ultimate race.
That scenario not matters, and Bowman and his team can concentrate on putting themselves in the most effective position possible when the playoffs begin.
Bowman’s interim victory on Sunday got here by the hands of his critics, who all the time query his longevity at Hendrick because he doesn’t have the championships of teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, or the wins of teammate William Byron.
During his greater than two-year winless streak, Bowman also suffered a back injury in a race automobile accident and a concussion in a Cup race accident.
“I think you have to win races if you’re at HMS. But I definitely didn’t have anyone make me feel like I was on the hot seat,” said Bowman, who’s under contract through 2026.
“There was never a single conversation with a single one who questioned anything about it. It was all the time, 'What do you would like? How can we assist you? How can we support the team?'
“That's the great thing about Hendrick Motorsports, no matter how much noise there is outside, everyone inside will never criticize each other. They'll always support each other.”
Enough?
For per week — or possibly just a couple of days — Bowman managed to beat the noise.
Hendrick Motorsports drivers will now make up 1 / 4 of the 16 playoff drivers, and Bowman has the shortest winless streak of any driver within the series (zero).
But that definitely won’t last. Even if Bowman wins additional races this season, there are those that think it won’t be enough.
He didn't need their approval, but at the very least for sooner or later he was glad he might be higher than them.
“As a person, I’m just a guy who tries to do his job the best he can, and I see everything that’s being said about me,” he said. “So for me to have the option to beat what I went through and are available back here is basically cool.
“I didn't need it. There's definitely a lot of things in my life that I don't need. I just appreciate it.”
