Would you recognize the world’s biggest celebrities out of character? What if Jeff Gordon dressed up as a test driver and came to pick you up at your door? Well, it would surprise you to know that this actually happened in a commercial for Pepsi.

Throwback to 2014 when, following the footsteps of the Hendrick Motorsports chairperson, another HMS driver had taken a tour around the infields of the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The driver disguised as a reporter to see who could name the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Interesting fact: There were an inordinate number of rookies that season.

No cookies for the rookies

It all started when someone among the participants of the race joined two NASCAR reporters to find out how well-versed people are with the names of the drivers. When asked who knows most about the rookies this year by the star-in-disguise, hilarious questions from the people followed:

“I dont know any of ’em”

“Ahh, I couldn’t tell ya.”

“Who’s a rookie?”

“NASCAR has rookies?”

Names like Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon started coming up as the prank continued. But when someone casually insulted the reporter, who looked a lot like Alex Bowman, the climax of the shenanigans hit. One of the fans thought that the #48 Chevy star was still a novice in the Cup Series.

“He [Bowman] was coming on strong in Nationwide last year but…he’s got a long way to go in the Cup Series.”

Alex Bowman then revealed his identity, which made the fan start laughing uncontrollably and walk away. Bowman had a rather funny thing to say to that: “Hashtag Gotcha!” After clicking photographs with some of them, Alex handed a can of Dr. Pepper to the fans who could name the rookies of the year and it all ended in a rather jovial mood.

It has been nine years since then, and Bowman is no longer a rookie. In fact, he has not missed the playoffs since 2018. Can he continue his streak?

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The 60-point penalty is getting heavier by the day for Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman as he seeks a spot in the playoffs

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Jump to today, the Camaro ZL1 driver is running out of ways to qualify for the playoffs this year. Bowman currently sits at 20th and needs to gather 42 points to jump frog Daniel Suarez, AJ Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, and Michael McDowell, who is at the 16th spot in the NASCAR Cup Series standings.

This could be a big setback for “The Hack,” as he had never missed the playoffs since 2018.

A Frontstretch reporter asked Bowman how the pressure was considering the position of Hendrick Motorsports with Chase Elliott and Bowman himself not making the playoffs as of now: “Do you feel it with the team or is it just show up to a racetrack and perform the best you can?”

Bowman replied “We (had) a 60-point penalty, and I missed four races. I really shouldn’t even be in the conversation. So, just need to go and execute. That’s really the biggest thing is just to go run how we’re supposed to. And we’ve had good runs. Obviously, Atlanta, we were really good. Chicago, we were going to be good. Just seems like every week, something happens.”

“So hopefully, we can overcome that this weekend,” Bowman added as he sounded optimistic about this weekend’s race at the Pocono Raceway.

Needlessly said, the remaining 6 races are of immense importance to many drivers as well as to the fans, as they clench their fists in suspense and wait for the results at The Tricky Triangle.

Read more: WATCH: An Apologetic Hendrick Driver Alex Bowman Confronts Kyle Busch After Dearly Costing Him NASCAR Win at COTA