During the third stage of Sunday afternoon's NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman was feeling ill and removed himself from the DuraMAX Grand Prix.
Myatt Snider, who happened to be at the track pit spotting for Fox Sports pit reporter Jamie Little, filled in for him behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet the rest of the way.
Snider had never before competed in a Cup Series race, although Bowman was still credited for the 36th place finish, five laps off the lead lap.
Shortly after the 95-lap race around the 17-turn, 2.4-mile (3.864-kilometer) Austin, Texas road course concluded, Hendrick Motorsports president and general manager Jeff Andrews gave an update on Bowman's health.
Alex Bowman health update
“It was an unexpected situation," said Andrews. "Alex wasn’t feeling well enough to continue, so we made the call to get him out of the car. It came on suddenly. He was seen in the care center and received fluids, but we don’t have anything further to share at this time. We’re grateful to Myatt for stepping in on such short notice.”
According to Jayski, Bowman was evaluated in the infield care center and released.
Bowman now finds himself 36th (last) in the point standings among full-time drivers. He had entered Sunday's race as one of only two drivers to record five top 10 finishes in the Cup Series' first five trips to COTA. The other, 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, won the race, making him the first driver in series history to win three races in a row to start a season. Reddick also won at COTA in 2023.
Kaulig Racing's A.J. Allmendinger also required medical attention after the race, and he too was evaluated and released from the infield care center. He was taken to the care center on a stretcher after his ninth place finish, which came after his cool suit failed.
RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski, who broke his right femur in mid-December, entered the race with Joey Hand as his backup driver, but Keselowski was able to run the entire race and finish 20th.
All three drivers are expected to compete in this coming Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
Sunday's race is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!