Most times in racing, a driver has no control over an outcome, and that is never more accurate than it is when a driver gets injured. Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman and injuries have seemed to go hand and hand over the past few several seasons.
Bowman is an eight-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner and has been a staple at Hendrick Motorsports since 2018. The 2026 season is a contract year, after he had already been the talk of the "hot seat" rumor mill for the better part of the past few years, even with a contract that extends through 2026.
Bowman's future with the team that gave him the opportunity of a lifetime is quickly becoming fuzzier, and it's becoming fuzzier by the week. Despite having some speed, Bowman's start to the 2026 has been terrible, from a 40th place DNF in the Daytona 500 to having to climb from his No. 48 Chevrolet in the third stage at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) due to illness.
Future of Alex Bowman at Hendrick Motorsports looking bleak
Things have only gotten more complicated for Bowman. The illness that forced him out in Austin turned out to be a bout with vertigo.
After being diagnosed, Bowman was forced to miss this past weekend's race at Phoenix Raceway. That only further complicates the points hole he was already in, placing him 77 points below the "Chase" playoff cut line. Not to mention, vertigo can be particularly tough to deal with when trying to drive a race car.
If missing his home race in Phoenix wasn't enough, there has been no word on whether or not he will be cleared to get back in the car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A post by Hendrick Motorsports sharing this week's paint schemes had Justin Allgaier listed to be in the No. 48.
That post was later deleted, but now it's back up. Even though there is no official word, it certainly appears that Bowman won't be back in the No. 48 car this week.
Hendrick Motorsports took down the article on their website saying Justin Allgaier will drive the No. 48 car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) March 11, 2026
Waiting for an official announcement but I think it’s pretty obvious where it’s heading unless it was a true (and very weird) mistake. https://t.co/QGHV2xRhcY
That only further complicates his future. Aside from his contract status, his health is really starting to become concerning.
Is history repeating itself?
Hendrick Motorsports is the most successful team in NASCAR history, with 15 Cup Series championships and 320 victories. Bowman has eight of those wins, but something is starting to really stick out, and not in a good way.
In 2021, Bowman was on fire with his consistency and won four races. But things started to really go off the rails in 2022.
That's when the injuries started to rear their ugly head. In the midst of the playoffs, Bowman was involved in a hard crash at Texas Motor Speedway that resulted in a concussion. That concussion kept him out of his car for five of the final six races in 2022.
If that wasn't enough, in 2023 while racing his sprint car, Bowman was involved in an ugly wreck, and he broke a bone in his back, resulting in three more missed Cup Series starts after he had been leading the point standings earlier in the season.
He never recovered from the points hole that put him in and missed the playoffs for the first time in his Hendrick Motorsports career. The 2024 season was a bright spot, as Bowman was able to snap a two-year win drought when he won the Chicago Street Race.
Yet even with consistent performances over the past two seasons, including a career-high eight top five finishes and 17 top 10 finishes in 2024, Bowman has underperformed during the most important parts of the season, all while his three teammates have won multiple races. He hasn't won since that Chicago victory.
His poor finishes to start the 2026 season, combined with yet another health issue, are only making things worse, especially with his contract due to expire after the 2026 season. Even if he can overcome his bout with vertigo, history appears to be repeating itself in a nasty way, much like it did for several other ex-Hendrick Motorsports drivers, including Jerry Nadeau, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kasey Kahne.
Vertigo is nothing to mess around with, and we hope all the best for Alex Bowman, but it's starting to look pretty clear that the writing is on the wall regarding his time with Hendrick Motorsports.