The 2024 Daytona 500 was a wild ride, culminating in the dramatic ‘Big One‘ that took out nearly two dozen cars and caused a late-race restart. While Alex Bowman and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron emerged unscathed and even secured a 1-2 finish, Bowman recently stirred the pot by placing some of the blame for the incident on Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez.

On the backstretch with just nine laps to go, Bowman was engaged in bump-drafting with his teammate, William Byron, attempting to make their way to the front. However, the well-intentioned move took a disastrous turn when Byron lost control, creating a chain reaction that ensnared 21 cars battered, with six former champions out of contention, painting a chaotic picture on the iconic Daytona International Speedway.

Alex Bowman takes the fall for stirring the pot but points a finger at Keselowski as well as Suarez

In the aftermath of the 2024 edition of The Great American Race, Bowman expressed his side of the story on Dirty Mo Media Network’s ‘Dale Jr Reloaded’ podcast, shedding light on the moment when chaos ensued. The #48 for Hendrick offered a detailed account of the pivotal moments preceding the pileup. Reflecting on the incident and placing part of the blame on Daniel Suarez for the ensuing chaos, Bowman shared his insights when asked if he triggered the ‘big one.

He said, “It seems like it… Honestly? When it happened, I didn’t. I thought when Brad changed lanes that it got William more messed up than it did, um, you know… So, like halfway down the backstretch, I kind of got ping-ponged between the #99 (Daniel Suarez) and the #24. The #99 hit me as I was pushing the #24, and that’s what kind of got me, and the #24 pointed in different directions.” 

The three-time Daytona 500 pole-winner continued, “We kind of spent the second half of the back, straight away, like trying to get lined back up um, and as I thought I was lined back up with him, the #6 changes lanes, and I see William kind of move a little bit, and I lifted way before I hit him (Keselowski) but um clearly just not enough. So yeah, technically, I was the guy that started it, I guess.“

Read More: Daytona 500 Winner William Byron: One of the Safest Drivers to Bet on Heading to Atlanta

While Bowman acknowledged his role in initiating the incident, he also recognized the inherent unpredictability of Daytona racing, stating, “If it wasn’t me, somebody else was going to do it. It’s the Daytona 500 with a couple of laps to go; that stuff happens.”

Will the wounds reopen in Atlanta?

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Despite being at the center of the storm, Bowman and Byron emerged relatively unscathed, eventually securing a 1-2 finish for Hendrick Motorsports. The victory, however, came with mixed emotions for Bowman, who narrowly missed claiming the coveted Daytona 500 title, as well as NASCAR fans, who later questioned the legitimacy of Hendrick Motorsports’ staggering ninth Daytona victory.

A valiant effort but a crucial victory slipped away as the driver of the #24 Camaro ZL1 for HMS, William Byron, clinched the win by a margin as thin as the air separating their cars in the bump draft. Bowman’s reflections on the podcast further capture the essence of defeat, juxtaposed against the resilience that fuels his competitive spirit: “To lose the Daytona 500 by six-thousandths of a second or whatever it was is definitely heartbreaking, but they could have thrown the caution a bit earlier and made that margin bigger.”

With the Daytona ‘disappointments’ behind him, Bowman gears up for the upcoming Ambetter Health 400 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, demonstrating resilience in the face of fan speculation and criticism. As he navigates the twists and turns of the NASCAR season, fans can anticipate an intriguing rivalry between the two Hendrick frontrunners at Daytona, Bowman, and Byron, adding an extra layer of excitement to the races ahead in the 2024 season. As the NASCAR circus rolls on, all eyes will be on Bowman, Byron, Suarez, and the rest of the field to see how this saga impacts the rest of the season.

Read More: Bummed Alex Bowman Drops 8-Word Bomb on NASCAR’s Controversial Daytona 500 Decision