NASCAR: Should underfunded teams such as BK Racing target young drivers?

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 10: Gray Gaulding, driver of the DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 10: Gray Gaulding, driver of the #23 Toyota, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 10, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

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FONTANA, CA – MARCH 18: Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images) /

Alex Bowman

Alex Bowman has found his way to the golden valley of NASCAR at Hendrick Motorsports, but it wasn’t all easy early on in his career.

Before BK Racing, at age 18, Bowman raced for a number of teams in different series across the NASCAR plane. In 2011, he raced for four different K&N Pro Series East teams in 12 races and found his way to seven top 10 finishes. Also in 2011, he earned two wins in two races while competing in ARCA.

That consistent effort landed Bowman a full-time ride for Cunningham Motorsports in ARCA in 2012. This is where he was able to show off his talent and finished in 4th place in the standings with four wins, 11 top 5 finishes, and 13 top 10 finishes.

Bowman made the next leap to the Xfinity Series in the form of a full-time ride with RAB Racing in 2013. While the learning curve was noticeable given the fact that he only recorded two top 5 finishes and six top 10 finishes with an average finish of 16.5, he still put up solid statistics for a rookie and now had a great base to grow from as a driver.

Instead of choosing to take on another full-year in the Xfinity Series and continuing to grow, he jumped at the opportunity to become a Cup Series regular at BK Racing in 2014.

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