“Rumors are just rumors,” an annoyed Alex Bowman said a few weeks ago. Following a five-race drab streak after his podium finish in Pocono, Bowman found himself in the middle of a painful discussion. A rumor did the rounds in the NASCAR community that Rick Hendrick may soon let go of his most underperforming driver of the season. After all, keeping up with the likes of Kyle Larson or William Byron is no mean feat.

Yet Bowman rolled up his sleeves to prove his doubters wrong. He did so not just via a confident confrontation with the media but also by posting some stellar runs on the racetrack. And the latter method enthralled veteran driver Kevin Harvick.

Alex Bowman’s silent progress is impressive

If we take last year into account—the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team was in shambles. Although he led the Cup Series in points in early April, late April held a dismal fate in store for Alex Bowman. He fractured his vertebra in a sprint race and missed three races—eventually, he could never gather his momentum and finished 20th at the end of the season. In 2024 as well, Bowman had to watch his teammates soar ahead in wins and points until July when he won the rain-drenched Chicago Street Race.

But even after that, Alex Bowman finished outside the top 15 from Indianapolis to Darlington. That spun off a rumor that his seat under Rick Hendrick may be getting hot. It was so much so that the media hounded Bowman with questions about his future. But he handled it well, as Kevin Harvick pointed out on his podcast. “I’d really think they did a really good job with the PR on that side of the world, ’cause it kind of defused the whole going to a different car. Now that that car is situated and all those questions are gone with Justin Haley and Corey LaJoie swapping rides…So there’s a lot that’s been put to bed.”

However, Harvick pointed out Alex Bowman’s quiet work to pull himself out of this mess. He paid no heed to the noise about his jittery future and worked hard until the noise fizzled out by itself. He finished 5th in Atlanta. Despite an 18th-place finish in Watkins Glen, Bowman made sure to gather enough points with a pole spot at Bristol. So that progress impressed Harvick, who said, “But the biggest thing about the 48 team? Qualifying on the pole this week, have the results to go with it. And when you have the results to go with everything that you’re doing on the racetrack, all the noise goes away.”

And Harvick has maintained a sympathetic approach toward Bowman ever since this mess started.

Bowman’s scenario was understandable

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When Alex Bowman was on the cusp of the Chicago Street Race, he lagged way behind his teammates. Kyle Larson and William Byron already owned three race wins, and Chase Elliott had one while leading the points chart. Yet even after Bowman led 8 laps and won the rain-shortened Chicago race, Kevin Harvick challenged him to keep up with his teammates.

With Larson being arguably the best American racer at present and Byron and Elliott being equally competitive, Bowman faced a tall order to maintain Rick Hendrick’s standard. And he did—he has done what was needed to maintain his playoff position.

Yet Bowman’s journey to this comfortable spot was laden with thorns. And Kevin Harvick sympathized with him when a ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’ rumor set off that he would lose his seat next year. He said, “When you look at the 48 situations, it’s obvious that someone has had the conversation about Bowman not driving the car and scenarios. But even though he called everybody, there’s gotta be some sort of conversation that’s been had somewhere. Frustrating for the driver. But I always thought it was more frustrating for the team. Because the crew chief and the team guys don’t wanna have to answer the question. And they get frustrated with having to answer questions like that.”

Anyway, all that matters is that Alex Bowman has the situation under control now. We hope to see the No. 48 team shine brightly in the Round of 12!