After Going 80 Races Without a Win, Alex Bowman Aims to Leave Behind Chase Elliott by the Time He Returns from Pocono

Another resurgence story within Hendrick Motorsports came alive last weekend. Alex Bowman has waited for 80 races since his Las Vegas win in 2022. Finally, he could wheel the No. 88 to Victory Lane at the Chicago Street Race last weekend. Hendrick Motorsports is now a four-headed monster, with all its drivers being brilliant winners.

But Alex Bowman believes his work is not done yet. He aims to topple Chase Elliott, his teammate, with a single win and also with a miserable gap to look back upon. Pocono Raceway will witness Bowman thrust his ambitions, as he feels confident there.

Alex Bowman has his goals cut out

Once you start winning again, there’s no turning back. Alex Bowman battled a variety of health storms, quite like Chase Elliott, who faced a snowboarding accident last year. An end-of-season concussion in 2022 sidelined Bowman for five weeks. Another three-week gap came in 2023 because of a fractured back. Last year, Bowman could not make the best of his medical waiver and missed the playoffs, wallowing in misery that he let his team down. But he slowly retraced his path to Victory Lane.

Bowman began the 2024 season with a strong start, finishing as the runner-up at Daytona. Following that, he achieved numerous top-five and top-ten finishes, but the No. 88 team only felt complete satisfaction after finally claiming victory in Chicago.

In an interview with Sirius XM NASCAR, posted on X on July 12, Bowman discussed the relief of that achievement: “I think it definitely helps on the stress side of things.” Yet his heart is set on further goals. “But at the same time I don’t think it changes much on how we’re trying to operate as a race team…going to keep approaching every week with the same intensity.” 

Hence Alex Bowman is determined to continue his streak at Pocono Raceway. He had a lucky dog on-track win there in 2021 and a podium finish in 2018. So he exuded confidence by saying, “And you know, Pocono’s a great shot for us to win. We’ve been really, really good there in the past…we were really strong there last year, we won there before. So I’m excited to get there, you know that place.”

If Bowman manages to notch a win at the Tricky Triangle, then the Hendrick hierarchy may shuffle. Chase Elliott would be alone with a single win as Alex Bowman enters the multiple-winner category. And Bowman’s determination might just make it a reality: “Most of the time the strategy kind of plays out like a road course with guys trying to get track position, flip stages and do different things. So that’ll be interesting.” 

However, the fact remains that Elliott owns two wins in Pocono, although one of them came because of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch’s penalties. Bowman’s spectacular progress and gear talent have Hendrick Motorsports’ Vice Chairman commending him as well.

Hendrick VC applauds Bowman’s prowess

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Although Alex Bowman had to wade through an 80-race debacle, his driving talents were never under scrutiny. Bowman has consistently shown progress this year, fetching four top-five and seven top-ten finishes. Then, in Chicago, he battled some strong competitors. He drove away from road racing ace Joey Hand and also steered clear of Tyler Reddick, who was like a raging bull due to his multiple last-lap failures. Eventually, Bowman prevailed and made Ally and his Hendrick bosses proud.

So Jeff Gordon, Hendrick VC, oozed with pride as he praised Alex Bowman’s performance. “You really want guys like that to find their way when they’ve had to struggle and have — just seems like right as he’s getting into a stride, boom, something would happen. I think that’s why this is so important, not just for him and the team but for him personally. As far as we’re concerned, Ally loves him, and we love him. He’s a car guy, and there’s a reason why he came to Hendrick Motorsports, and he’s proven he can win. Today was not an easy set of circumstances, and he proved he can win in these tough conditions, as well, on a road course.”

With Gordon’s blessings, Bowman may stamp another victory in the upcoming weekend. We can only wait till Sunday to see how this pans out.