This past year's NASCAR Cup Series silly season was arguably the quietest of all-time. Just one new driver is in the series, one driver has switched teams, and one driver has departed.
The only other three changes? A car number change and two manufacturer changes, both at teams that finished outside the top 30 in the 2025 owner standings.
And that all probably means that this year's is setting up to be a doozy. Several big-name drivers entered the season on the hot seat, needing to have good seasons to justify contract extensions from their respective organizations.
Some have started off well. Others haven't.
And then there is Alex Bowman.
If there was one driver who could not afford the kind of start that Alex Bowman has had, it's Alex Bowman.
Bowman is in his ninth year with Hendrick Motorsports, and while Ally Financial is signed as the primary sponsor of the No. 48 Chevrolet through 2028, Bowman is only signed through 2026.
The team tend to get contract extensions done pre-season, and after Kyle Larson re-signed through 2031 in February, Bowman is the team's only driver without a deal that runs through at least 2027.
Bowman has just one victory since March 2022, and it came at the Chicago Street Course, which is no longer on the schedule. Larson, William Byron, and Chase Elliott all won multiple races in 2025 alone, and all three are notably above this year's provisional playoff cut line through three races.
On the other hand, Bowman is last in the point standings among the 36 full-time drivers.
He crashed out of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, and he finished 23rd in the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway). Then at Circuit of the Americas, he was credited with a 36th place finish after falling ill and leaving the race in the third stage. Myatt Snider filled in for him and finished the race, five laps off the lead lap.
Bowman has scored just 23 points so far this season, nine fewer than the next lowest driver, Legacy Motor Club's Erik Jones. Jones, now in his sixth season with Legacy Motor Club (formerly Richard Petty Motorsports and Petty GMS Motorsports), happens to be another hot seat candidate.
Bowman was evaluated and cleared from the infield care center, but after being diagnosed with vertigo, he will not compete in this weekend's Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
Anthony Alfredo is set to replace him behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet as Bowman aims to return for next weekend's Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he absolutely needs to turn his season around.
The good thing for Bowman is that, while the postseason format is no longer a "win and in" format, his early 45-point deficit to the playoff cut line is absolutely not insurmountable with 23 races remaining on the regular season schedule. That cut line is set to stay in between the 16th and 17th place drivers all year, thanks to elimination of "win and in".
For reference, Bowman was the 16th and final driver into the 2025 playoff field, despite being ninth in points, and he was ninth in points despite nine finishes of 26th or worse during the regular season. While he was only 32 points clear of qualifying for the playoffs, he was 144 points clear of where the cut line would have been under the adjusted new format.
It's far from panic time for Alex Bowman, but it's safe to say that a turnaround is needed, and fast. But as long as he is granted a playoff waiver, he would still be in the fight, provided he only misses one race. Bowman missed multiple races due to health reasons during both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and he'll be hoping his absence this year is limited to just one weekend.
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