NASCAR makes obvious decision after Alex Bowman announcement
By Asher Fair
NASCAR has already granted Alex Bowman a waiver to remain eligible to advance to the round of 8 of the Cup Series playoffs.
Hendrick Motorsports announced on Thursday that Alex Bowman will not compete in this Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
The 29-year-old Tucson, Arizona native has suffered from concussion-like symptoms following his single-car crash in the round of 12 opener at Texas Motor Speedway this past Sunday, even though he was able to continue on and finish the race.
JR Motorsports Xfinity Series driver Noah Gragson is set to replace Bowman behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet in this 188-lap YellaWood 500 at the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked oval in Lincoln, Alabama.
With Gragson originally having been slated to drive for Beard Motorsports in this race, his move to Hendrick Motorsports to replace Bowman left the #62 Chevrolet needing a new driver.
Beard Motorsports confirmed that one of Gragson’s JR Motorsports teammates, Justin Allgaier, is instead set to drive this car on Sunday.
NASCAR themselves made another obvious decision: to grant Alex Bowman a medical waiver.
This means that Bowman can still advance to the round of 8, as his missed start will not count against his eligibility. However, it will still be an uphill battle, as a waiver doesn’t guarantee a driver anything.
NASCAR has granted a waiver for Alex Bowman to remain eligible to advance to the Round of 8 if he is able to come back at Charlotte road course (most likely he will be too low to make it on points and would have to win that Charlotte road course race to advance).
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 29, 2022
Even if Bowman returns for the round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, he will likely be in a must-win situation.
He is already 26 points below the round of 8 cut line following the round of 12 opener. In the standings, he is the lowest of the 12 drivers who remain eligible to win the championship.
A missed start will only increase that deficit to the cut line and make it a taller task, if not an impossible task, to overcome on points.
Fortunately, Bowman has been strong at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval since it was added to the schedule in 2018, having never finished outside of the top 10 in four starts. He finished in second place back in 2019.
Of course, if Bowman misses the Bank of America Roval 400, he will be eliminated from the playoffs due to not advancing to the round of 8 on points. So to remain in championship contention, he can only afford to miss this Sunday’s race. But health is understandably his number one priority.
Next. Key NBC broadcast change for NASCAR. dark
The YellaWood 500 is set to be broadcast live on NBC from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 2, and the Bank of America Roval 400 is set to be broadcast live on NBC from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 9. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now!