Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman was sidelined due to illness during the third stage of the recent NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), and Myatt Snider filled in for him behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet for the remainder of the race.
Bowman was then diagnosed with vertigo, and he remained out for the following weekend's race at Phoenix Raceway. Hendrick Motorsports sim driver Anthony Alfredo filled in for him.
Now a third different replacement driver has been confirmed for the 32-year-old Tucson, Arizona native. JR Motorsports O'Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Justin Allgaier is set to drive the No. 48 car this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Alex Bowman out again at Las Vegas
Allgaier has made two replacement appearances at Hendrick Motorsports before. He replaced Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Chevrolet for the 2020 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, after Johnson received what he still believes was a false positive COVID-19 test.
He also replaced Kyle Larson behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevrolet in the rain-shortened 2024 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as Larson remained at Indy to run the rain-delayed Indy 500.
As it stands, Allgaier has competed in the Cup Series in six of the past seven years. Like he did a year ago, he competed in this year's season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway for JR Motorsports.
There is still no timetable on Bowman's return, although him competing in next weekend's race at Darlington Raceway has not been ruled out. If he should not be cleared, however, it would no surprise to see Allgaier back, with the O'Reilly Series set to be at the "Lady in Black" next weekend as well.
Regardless of if or when he comes back, Bowman, who is in a contract year at Hendrick Motorsports, finds himself in a massive points hole, and with no more "win and in", a playoff spot is already unlikely.
Even before he missed the race at Phoenix, he was 36th (last) in the point standings. He now finds himself 77 points below the cut line, and that deficit will grow in this weekend's 267-lap Pennzoil 400 around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas, Nevada oval.
The Pennzoil 400 is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway starting at 4:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 15. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action!