NASCAR Cup Series: Alex Bowman’s victory a breakthrough for Chevrolet

Prior to Alex Bowman’s maiden NASCAR Cup Series victory, it had been more than 16 months since a Chevrolet driver other than Chase Elliott won a race.

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon wrecked Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola in the penultimate turn on the final lap of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway before going on to win the race after leading only one lap in his #3 Chevrolet.

This race, which was the first race after the Camaro ZL1 replaced the SS for the Chevrolet teams, took place on Sunday, February 18, 2018.

In the 496 days and 51 Cup Series races that followed, the only other times a Chevrolet driver drove to victory lane were when Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott earned the first four victories of his Cup Series career.

On Sunday, August 5, 2018, Elliott drove his #9 Chevrolet to his maiden Cup Series victory at Watkins Glen International. Just over two months later on Sunday, October 7, 2018, he drove his #9 Chevrolet to his second career victory at Dover International Speedway.

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Two weeks later on Sunday, October 21, 2018, Elliott found himself back in victory lane at Kansas Speedway. Most recently, he won the race at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 28, 2019 to earn his first victory of the 2019 season.

Meanwhile, during this 496-day, 51-race span, Ford drivers won 24 races while Toyota drivers won 23 races.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman put an end to this streak of misery for everybody within the Chevrolet organization aside of Elliott by earning the first victory of his career in Sunday’s Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Bowman led 88 laps of this 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Chicagoland Speedway oval in Joliet, Illinois en route to winning it in his #88 Chevrolet. He held off Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson following a hard-fought battle late in the race to take the checkered flag by 0.546 seconds over the driver of the #42 Chevrolet in second place.

But this wasn’t just a victory for Bowman and an end to this massive drought. This was one of Chevrolet’s best overall results in a long, long time.

Bowman not only won the race, but he led a 1-2 Chevrolet finish with Larson finishing in a season-high second place. Additionally, Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson finished in a season-high fourth in his #48 Chevrolet to give Chevrolet three of the top four positions.

Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron finished in eighth place in his #24 Chevrolet while Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, who started the race from the pole position in his #3 Chevrolet, finished in 10th, giving Chevrolet five of the top 10 positions. All five of these top five Chevrolet drivers led laps of this race. They combined to lead 123 laps.

Elliott never led the race, but he rallied from two laps off the lead lap early on to work his way into second place before an issue with the hose during a late pit stop dropped him to 20th. He still rallied once again to finish in 11th. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch finished in 13th in his #1 Chevrolet.

It wasn’t just like Chevrolet showed up at the end of this race, either. At one point, they had six drivers running in the top seven. Had it not been for the dominance of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, who led 132 laps in his #4 Ford before hitting the wall in the race’s third and final stage, Chevrolet drivers likely would have led close to 250 laps of this race.

There have been several races, recent races at that, during which Chevrolet drivers appeared to be poised to win. However, these potential victories always seemed to slip away and turn into missed opportunities to the point where this was becoming a trend.

But not at Chicagoland Speedway. Not with the maiden Cup Series victory of the 26-year-old Tucson, Arizona native in sight, and not with two other Chevrolet drivers set for season-high finishes.

Will Chevrolet use Alex Bowman’s maiden NASCAR Cup Series victory and turn it into momentum to continue their success throughout the remainder of the 2019 season? When will a Chevrolet team other than Hendrick Motorsports win a race? Who will be the next Chevrolet driver to earn a victory, and when will that driver be victorious?