NASCAR: Hendrick Motorsports announce another driver change

For the second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series playoff race, Alex Bowman is set to be sidelined with concussion-like symptoms.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman has officially been ruled out for the second consecutive week, ending his chances at winning the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Bowman has been suffering from concussion-like symptoms since his single-car wreck at Texas Motor Speedway two Sundays ago. Even though he was able to finish that race in 29th place, he was later ruled out for this past Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Now he won’t compete in the round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval this Sunday either.

Set to fill in for him is Noah Gragson, who drove the #48 Chevrolet in his place at Talladega Superspeedway as well. He finished in 19th place.

Bowman entered Talladega Superspeedway as the lowest of the 12 round of 12 driver in the standings, and his absence from that race put him in a must-win situation heading into Sunday’s 109-lap Bank of America Roval 400 at the 17-turn, 2.28-mile (3.669-kilometer) Concord, North Carolina road course.

His absence from this weekend’s race means that there will be just 10 drivers, not 11, competing for the final seven spots in the round of 8. The only secured round of 8 berth belongs to teammate Chase Elliott, thanks to his win at Talladega Superspeedway.

Here is how those 10 drivers stack up.

Rank – Driver – Points (Behind)
2 – Ryan Blaney – 3,101 (+32)
3 – Ross Chastain – 3,097 (+28)
4 – Denny Hamlin – 3,090 (+21)
5 – Joey Logano – 3,087 (+18)
6 – Kyle Larson – 3,087 (+18)
7 – Daniel Suarez – 3,081 (+12)
8 – Chase Briscoe – 3,069 (+0)
———ROUND OF 8 CUT LINE———
9 – Austin Cindric – 3,069 (-0)
10 – William Byron – 3,058 (-11)
11 – Christopher Bell – 3,036 (-33)

But keep an eye on another Hendrick Motorsports storyline later this week, that being the one surrounding William Byron. The team have appealed the 25-point penalty Byron was issued after the race at Texas Motor Speedway, and a successful appeal, whether it eliminates or simply lessens the penalty, could shake things up.

The Bank of America Roval 400 is set to be broadcast live from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 9. If you haven’t yet started a free trial of FuboTV, don’t miss this opportunity to do so!