Don’t be surprised if you see Alex Bowman win a race, pull into the Victory Lane, and just simply walk out. While these drivers are not scared of driving at speeds exceeding 190 mph, they have been a little afraid of celebrating after the Connor Zilischincident last year. In fact, Bowman finds himself surprised, but with a daunting reality.
Alex Bowman reflects on his ‘clumsy’ situation
“With my lack of coordination, I’m surprised that I haven’t [fallen],” Alex Bowman said. Before the start of the season, insider Bob Pockrass questioned a handful of drivers about their close calls while celebrating in the Victory Lane. This was in light of the Zilisch incident.
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While celebrating his Xfinity (now the O’Reilly Auto Parts) Series race win at Watkins Glen in 2025, Zilisch stepped on his car’s window. His window net slipped as he was getting down from the top, ending in a face-first fall. Zilisch’s collarbone was fractured, and he was forced to miss the Cup race the following day. But he managed to return less than two weeks later at Daytona, running the ever-important Xfinity race, considering his full-time participation. He managed to win that race, followed by a streak of Victory Lane visits.
Responding to Pockrass in the light of these events, Bowman found himself surprised that he hadn’t fallen until now, but it came with a dire reality, which he spoke out for himself: “It should have happened to me already. I guess I don’t win enough to get the odds going far enough to slip and fall, but I’m not very coordinated, so I’m surprised that I haven’t.”
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 15: Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports Ally Chevrolet waves to the crowd prior to the running of the 68th NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Daytona 500 on February 15, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 15 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602151510500
It seems that the only reason Bowman has not taken a fall from the car in the Victory Lane is that he doesn’t often visit it. The last time he won a Cup race was back in 2024 at Chicago, and before that, it was in 2022. In simple words, Alex Bowman does not win enough.
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While Hendrick Motorsportsis one of the best teams on the field and Bowman has been driving for them for the past decade, he has only won eight races. This also means that Bowman has never had a realistic chance of winning the championship; meanwhile, his teammates have clinched multiple championships within the same period. While he does happen to be decent, he is just not ‘Hendrick level.’
In fact, his lack of race wins had become so disappointing that at one point, Bowman admitted that he was losing the ‘fun’ in NASCAR.
“Cup racing is just so hard, and the pressure is so high, and everybody, like everything means so much here that it’s not fun, right? Like, it’s, you’re all in, and everything matters, and when you’re running poorly, as we did, it probably sucks a little bit of fun. Like, winning’s fun, obviously, rolled around 28th, not so fun,” he said.
Saying that Bowman is a ‘bad’ driver would be a bit too harsh. He has had his moments of shine, but when your teammates are contending for the championship every season while you’re stuck rooting for a top 10 finish, it does get a little hard. But it does seem that the team still has a lot of faith in him.
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HMS continues to have faith in Bowman
As mentioned, Bowman is not a bad driver. His main issue is consistency. He was hit in the face this season after the COTA race, where he had to retire mid-race because of vertigo symptoms. The result? He ended up missing the next four rounds and returned to Bristol, but with a disappointing finish.
However, things have been turning around for the #48 driver. While he might not be Rick Hendrick’s top performer, he has been extremely decent in recent races, with back-to-back podium results.
“It’s one thing to do it at a superspeedway, it’s another thing to do it where you need grip, speed, execution, and good restarts; and Alex had all of that today,” Jeff Gordon said after the race at Texas.
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It is very different to be finishing in third place at a superspeedway and to carry the same finish on a 1.5-mile track. Superspeedways are known for creating surprise winners because of their unpredictability. Hence, when Bowman clinched that result at Talladega, it wasn’t massive.
Mar 3, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman (48) during the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
But his performance at the Texas Motor Speedway stood out. Not only did Alex Bowman finish in third place once again, but had carried that momentum throughout the race. He kept himself within the top spots for most of the race, making most use of the Chevy that happened to be the stronger car that weekend.
This certainly impressed the likes of Rick Hendrick and the rest of the #48 crew: “Nobody has faced bigger challenges than that 48 team,” Gordon added. “For them to be smiling again and building something, that’s really gratifying to see.”
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It is perhaps a major positive for Gordon to be appreciating Alex Bowman and his team. Considering he was rumored to be let go from the team at the end of the 2025 season, Bowman is now showing massive signs of improvement. While it is tough to say if he will be a title contender just yet, he might have a chance to celebrate in the Victory Lane, understandably, with a lot more caution.
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