Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman was initially on the entry list for this past Sunday afternoon's Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway, even after exiting the previous race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in the third and final stage due to health reasons.
Bowman was diagnosed with vertigo during the week between the COTA and Phoenix races, and after Myatt Snider filled in for him behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet during the closing laps at COTA, Hendrick Motorsports sim driver Anthony Alfredo drove the No. 48 car at Phoenix and was running inside the top 10 before being collected in an accident, resulting in a 33rd place DNF.
The entry list has been released for this coming Sunday's Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Bowman is listed as the driver of the No. 48 car.
Will Alex Bowman return at Las Vegas?
Bowman has not yet been cleared to compete, so the entry list is subject to change, just as it did before the Phoenix race. But it's no huge surprise to see Hendrick Motorsports list their full-time driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet as the car's initial driver as they wait and see what his status is for the coming weekend.
Bowman won at Las Vegas in March 2022, and he has scored three consecutive top seven finishes at the track since October 2024. After missing the October 2022 race due to a concussion, he responded with a third place finish in the March 2023 race.
And if he does return this weekend, it's no secret that he will be aiming for a strong run to turn his season around. Even before his Phoenix absence, he was 36th (last) in points among full-time drivers, 45 points below the cut line after a disastrous start to the final season of his current contract. He is now 77 points below the playoff cut line.
Hendrick Motorsports applied for a playoff waiver after it was confirmed that Bowman would miss the Phoenix race, but NASCAR is unlikely to make any official decisions until Bowman actually returns to action. Should he return this weekend, it's hard to imagine he wouldn't be granted a waiver.
Following an offseason format change, the 16 playoff spots are set to be awarded to the drivers in the top 16 in the point standings after the regular season, meaning that even if Bowman is given a waiver, he would need to vault himself into the top 16 to get into the "Chase" no matter how many races he misses, as there is no more "win and in" system in place.
The only other entry list change from Phoenix to Las Vegas is the fact that Richard Childress Racing, the only team to add a non-chartered (open) car at both COTA and Phoenix, will not field the No. 33 Chevrolet at Las Vegas after Jesse Love drove it at COTA and Austin Hill drove it at Phoenix. There are no open cars on this weekend's entry list.
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. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and catch all of the action from the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season's fifth race!