Alex Bowman entered the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season without a contract to compete beyond its conclusion, despite the fact that primary sponsor Ally Financial signed an extension a few years back to remain on the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet through 2028.
Bowman's early struggles, coupled with his four missed races due to vertigo, led to speculation that the 2026 season could be his last. He has now missed the postseason in two of the past four seasons, and he has missed time due to injury or illness in three of the past five.
Bowman did confirm his retirement plans, but they are not until post-2027. He and the team agreed to a one-year contract extension to keep him behind the wheel of the No. 48 car for a seventh season (10th overall with Rick Hendrick's team) next year, but the search for a new driver for 2028 began immediately after that news was confirmed.
That search has now ended, as Connor Zilisch is set to replace Bowman as the new teammate for Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and William Byron in 2028.
Is Connor Zilisch the right choice for Hendrick?
The 20-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native is currently a rookie competing for Trackhouse Racing, following a 10-win rookie O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season with JR Motorsports a year ago, and has been on Hendrick's radar for quite some time.
There's little doubt that Zilisch's upside is limitless, but the decision still comes off as a bit questionable, and it makes you wonder if media and fan-driven hype really does matter more than on-track results.
He is just 34th in the point standings with one top 10 finish, ahead of only Cody Ware, and while Trackhouse hasn't been the greatest, Shane van Gisbergen is inside the provisional playoff picture, with Ross Chastain just on the outside looking to capitalize on some late-regular season momentum to get in.
Zilisch has admittedly been collected in numerous mistakes of others, but he has also caused some mind-boggling incidents of his own. Again, it's to be expected that rookies will take some time to get up to speed at the Cup level, but this is a rookie whom the media were convinced would be a championship contender from day one, and they've been trying to walk that back ever since the season actually started. At this point, he has shown absolutely nothing at the Cup level to justify this move.
The decision is particularly noteworthy because of the fact that Corey Day, who actually competes for Hendrick in the O'Reilly Series, has had an impressive rookie season of his own, and he was signed for the purpose of developing him into an eventual Cup Series regular. If that promotion happens, it doesn't look like it will be with HMS.
With all of that said, it's a high-risk gamble that is definitely very high-reward. Zilisch's overall racing resume before even entering his 20s is probably more decorated than those of a lot of Cup Series veterans. The question is whether or not that skill and talent can actually translate to the top level of stock car racing, because so far, he's come up empty.
Now with a move to a powerhouse organization in sight, he set to be in a prime position to make that happen. But if it doesn't, there simply will not be any more excuses.
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