Alex Bowman has been sidelined since he left during the third and final stage of the road course race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in early March due to illness. Myatt Snider filled in for him to conclude that race.
Bowman was later diagnosed with vertigo, and Anthony Alfredo replaced him in the following weekend's race at Phoenix Raceway. Since then, JR Motorsports O'Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Justin Allgaier has driven the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in each race.
Allgaier, who leads the O'Reilly Series standings with three victories in the season's first eight races, was in line to run Sunday's Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway after finishing 25th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 24th at Darlington Raceway, and 22nd at Martinsville Speedway in his substitute role.
However, Bowman has now been cleared to return to action one week earlier than initially anticipated.
Alex Bowman set to return at Bristol after missing four races
According to Hendrick Motorsports, Bowman turned laps at the Ten Tenths Motor Club road course in Concord, North Carolina in a street car on Tuesday, and then he participated in a Wednesday pit practice, plus simulator testing. He was then cleared after a medical evaluation, 38 days since his most recent Cup appearance.
It was initially stated that Bowman would return no earlier than next weekend's race at Kansas Speedway.
It hasn't been confirmed whether Bowman will be granted a playoff waiver after missing four races, but it might not matter with no more "win and in" playoff format.
He was 36th (last) in the point standings even before his absence, and he is now 144 points below the playoff cut line, between the 16th and 17th place drivers, with 19 races remaining on the 26-race regular season schedule.
Bowman's top finish of the year is his only actual finish, when he recorded a 23rd place result at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) in February.
He finished eighth in the race at Bristol back in September, following a DNF in the April race.
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