After a hardly contested 150-lap at Coliseum, Alex Bowman secured a P6 finish just behind his teammate Kyle Larson. Bowman got a decent finish in the season-opener, much like last year where he came home fourth, fueling the fight for a stellar comeback.

Despite the setback in 2023 where he started the season brilliantly with well-placed finishes, Bowman’s stock dipped after the driver suffered a grievous back fracture that rendered him to take some rest away from the track. Heading to Daytona next week, the #48 driver and his crew chief eye a major turnaround in the driver’s seventh full-time season in NASCAR’s top-tier division as he reveals the game plan for 2024.

“Going to take each week as it comes” – HMS insider and the crew chief of the #48 of Alex Bowman reveals the team’s motto for 2024

Alex Bowman is starting off the season on the right foot just like he did back in 2023. But will fate run its course on the driver like it did last season with Bowman injuring himself in a Sprint race?

Well, that’s a question we leave to fate. However, irrespective of that, Bowman and his #48 crew have learned from their mistakes from the past season and are looking to take charge and get valuable points in the initial races to secure their playoff berth. Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio as per HendrickMotorsports.com, Blake Harris, who has been Bowman’s crew chief since 2023, reflected on his strategy, all while mentioning what can be done and what to expect.

He said, “We are going to take each week as it comes as we did last year, but we are going for the win straight out of the box. Last year, we went to LA, had a good run, and were super competitive. Rolling with momentum into Daytona, we go sit on the front row and come out of there with a top five. You can’t script that type of momentum going into the season. It carried up until the point where Alex (Bowman) got hurt.”

“Certainly looking forward to (Las) Vegas. Atlanta (Motor Speedway) is circled for us. We had really fast race cars there. I’m looking forward to the first four or five on the schedule and carrying some of that momentum that we had last year, notes that we got out of the box and see if we can’t go knock one out,” further said Harris, hinting at a possible comeback of Bowman and the #48 Ally powered HMS Chevy.

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With one race done and dusted, Bowman will look to better his finish at the upcoming Daytona 500. Bowman’s season-ending injury has been a topic of much discussion in the community and, recently, even JGR driver, Denny Hamlin shared his mind about his rival’s upcoming schedule.

Denny Hamlin on Bowman’s backbreaking injury

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Both the JGR driver and the HMS ace have had their differences. The two have met each other on the track more than once and it wasn’t a great sight for either. While it was Hamlin who drew first blood when he called Bowman a hack at Martinsville back in 2021, the #48 returned the favor when the #11 Toyota bumped his Chevy at Chicago.

However, it looks like the drivers have buried the hatchet with Hamlin sympathizing about Bowman’s critical injury that left his 2023 ambitions in shambles. This was pretty evident during an episode of Denny Hamlin’s popular podcast, Actions Detrimental. Hamlin, who also suffered a horrific back injury, said, “I think he was hurt. That’s my personal opinion. I went through a very similar injury. It was probably very likely he was not 100% in his car control feel. I think that he has a bounce-back season. I think he makes the playoffs, probably wins a race.”

READ MORE: Alex Bowman unravels his plans for dirt racing 

With the two speedsters burying their differences and Bowman focused on the task at hand, will fate play spoilsport or will the driver return back to form? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.