Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman made the logical decision to remove himself from Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), as he began feeling ill as the race progressed and needed to prioritize his health.
Myatt Snider, who had never before competed in a Cup Series race, replaced him behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet during a caution flag period in the middle of stage three.
While Bowman's condition was not initially known, Hendrick Motorsports put out a statement later on Sunday evening indicating that the 32-year-old Tucson, Arizona native was evaluated and released from the infield care center. He was credited with a 36th place finish, five laps off the lead lap.
Bowman has had a rough start to the 2026 season, as he finds himself 36th, last among full-time drivers, in the point standings.
He has yet to finish inside the top 20 this year, and he's already 45 points below the provisional playoff cut line, which is exactly where he does not need to be to start the final season on his current contract. He is in his ninth full season with the team.
Now things have gotten even worse.
Alex Bowman won't compete at Phoenix
Bowman was listed as the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet on the entry list for Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway, but he will not race around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) Avondale, Arizona oval after being diagnosed with vertigo.
Anthony Alfredo, who is Hendrick Motorsports' sim driver and competes full-time for Viking Motorsports in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, is set to take his place. Alfredo is set to lead off the single-car qualifying session on Saturday as a result of the No. 48 team's unfavorable metric score, which factors in a car's most finish in the most recent race and position in the point standings.
Alfredo made two Cup Series starts for Beard Motorsports a year ago after failing to qualify for the Daytona 500, and after initially appearing to have qualified for this year's running of the "Great American Race", NASCAR removed the No. 62 Chevrolet due to a post-race technical violation.
He hasn't competed for a team other than Beard Motorsports at the Cup level since he ran two races for Live Fast Motorsports in 2023. He competed full-time as a rookie for Front Row Motorsports in 2021 and scored DNFs in both of his starts at Phoenix.
In eight career O'Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at Phoenix, the 26-year-old Ridgefield, Connecticut native owns a top finish of 10th place.
Bowman is expected to receive a playoff waiver, meaning that he would remain eligible to qualify for the postseason despite missing this weekend's race. However, a return for next weekend's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has not been confirmed, and he would still need to work his way into the top 16 in the point standings by the end of the 26-race regular season.
Live coverage of the Straight Talk Wireless 500 is set to be provided by Fox Sports 1 starting at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 8. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action from Phoenix Raceway!