Alex Bowman’s 2024 Cup Series season has been decent so far. But is it ‘decent’ enough at Hendrick Motorsports?

Before his win at the Chicago Street Course earlier this season, the 31-year-old was winless in the last season. Combine it with the fact that Bowman missed races in 2022 because of a concussion and three races in 2023 because of a back injury. It might not be completely illogical that rumors are circulating about his future in NASCAR’s most successful team.

Last year, the No. 48 driver signed a contract extension until 2026, which coincided with Ally signing a multi-year agreement to remain Hendrick Motorsports’ sponsor until 2028. However, as speculations about uncertainty over Alex Bowman’s future in HMS, the team where he has spent the last seven years, come to light, would sponsor Ally Financial keep faith in him in case of a departure? Alex Bowman himself came forward with his version.

According to Eric Estepp’s YouTube channel, Alex Bowman has shut down any speculation about his future. The 31-year-old said, “That rumor has certainly been annoying. Obviously, my contract is through the end of 2026. All I can tell you is like what my bosses have told me, and that is that there are no plans to change anything. Yeah, rumors are just rumors. Hopefully, they’ll get their announcements done so my rumors stop, obviously. Yeah, as far as I know, I’m driving the No. 48 next year.” Alongside, he also revealed the extent of frustration he had with the rumors.

“Yeah, I mean for me – like that’s a rumor that I’ve heard for a month,” he explained. “It got to the point where I picked up the phone and called everybody, and everybody said, ‘absolutely not’. So, that’s really all I have to go on and I don’t have a reason to believe anything other than that. There’s no – ‘oh, you need to do this to keep your job.’ Like it’s absolutely not … everything’s fine,” Alex said. Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon spoke about the rumors on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“Yeah, you know, don’t like to address rumors ’cause that’s what they are, but, you know, we have a lot of confidence in [Alex Bowman], and [Blake Harris], and the whole No. 48 team. Nobody wants to see them go deeper into the playoffs or go to Phoenix and compete for a championship more than we do. We believe in those guys,” Gordon said. However, his next comments might sound intriguing.

“I understand silly season, and things come along when performance hasn’t been there, especially at Hendrick Motorsports, you know, is a high standard. I understand how sometimes those things get out there, but we are excited about the future there,” Gordon further added. So how did the rumors reached to such an extent?

The rumors apparently got air with the comments made by NASCAR spotters Brett Griffin and Freddie Kraft days back. Griffin implied that Bowman’s position might be at risk if he did not perform well in the playoffs, while Kraft hinted at possible unannounced driver changes. And their arguments do not look completely baseless.

NASCAR has always been a results-oriented industry, which means multi-year deals don’t mean much if the performances aren’t backing it up. Bowman began his career at Hendrick Motorsports as a fill-in driver for the legendary Dale Earnhardt Jr in late 2016. Since he became a full-time driver for the team in 2018, the Arizona native has won eight races so far. His best season has been 2021 where he won 4 races. In that timeframe, he has only finished higher than 12th in the driver standings once, while his teammates have outperformed him at almost every opportunity, keeping with the lofty standards of Hendrick Motorsports.

This season also earned mixed results for the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet previously driven by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Bowman snapped an 80-race winless streak at the Chicago Street Race in July earning a playoff spot. But his performance in the aftermath of that victory hasn’t been up to the mark.

Since a P3 finish at Pocono, Bowman has only managed to finish outside the top 15 in five consecutive races. That includes finishes of P31, P28 and P27. Moreover, he enters the postseason with just five playoff points to his name. And it looks like he might be set for a quick exit unless there is a miracle. “Door Bumper Clear” host Brett Griffin thinks, if that happens, Bowman could be out of a job at Hendrick.

“I’d say Alex Bowman is out, and he may be out in more than just the playoffs if he’s out first round,” Griffin riled. On the other hand, Freddie Kraft, spotter for Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 team, stated, “There’s a reason they haven’t announced any drivers in certain cars yet,” indicating HMS has not declared anything about the No. 48 car till now. Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports had almost voiced the same.

“Bowman is signed through at least next year,” Pockrass wrote last month. “His win on July 7 on the Chicago street course did — at least temporarily — quiet much of the speculation that he could be out of this ride. Even with that win, it seems he can’t afford many hiccups,” Pockrass had written last month. As things stand, Bowman indeed looks to be on shaky ground.

Kyle Larson is arguably one of the best drivers. Chase Elliott is one of the most popular and Byron is a three-time winner this season. Bowman has tallied 12 top 10s and six top 5s this season. While that looks somewhat impressive, he’s led just 14 laps through 26 races. That is less than Justin Haley, Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie, Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, and just one more than Harrison Burton.

While Jeff Gordon kept Bowman’s future under the veil, when it comes to sponsorship with Ally Financial, the 31-year-old will be wise enough to know that the collaboration with the company, worth an estimated $12.67 billion, only exists as long as he is a driver at Hendrick Motorsports. While the digital financial services company is committed to Bowman, their relationship with the NASCAR team is more substantial, and it’s clear which side they would choose if the team decided to part ways with the driver in the future.

Ally Financial has also pledged its long-term commitment as the primary sponsor for Hendrick Motorsports, and the existing deal runs two years longer than Alex Bowman’s contract with the team. Time is running out for the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro to prove his worth. What he does from now until the end of next season could determine his long-term fate in the NASCAR Cup Series. A deep playoff run could go a long way in proving critics wrong, and Bowman seems to be aware that things are not fully in his favor.

Alex Bowman concedes to showcasing poor form

The last thing Alex Bowman needed, especially with the playoffs on the horizon, was a distraction. However, that’s the reality the 31-year-old is being forced to deal with, as the majority of questions on Wednesday’s Playoff Media Day were about his future at Hendrick Motorsports, rather than his expectations for the Round of 16 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. While the rumors are certainly annoying, it does indicate what has gone wrong for Bowman in the ongoing Cup Series season.

Reflecting on his poor form, the Arizona native said, “We need to go run better. It’s been a miserable month. We haven’t executed on a high level at all, so we need to go run better the next 10 weeks. But we need to do that for us and our playoff run — for Ally and the No. 48 team. There’s no ‘you need to do this to keep your job.’ As far as I know, I’m not worried about that at all.”

If the past five races are anything to go by, it’s easy to understand why Alex Bowman believes that it has been a miserable month for drivers. He hasn’t finished higher than 16th place in that timeframe, which was at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in the penultimate race of the regular season. However, he now can start with a clean slate for the remaining 10 races, and who knows? If he pulls off a miracle in the playoffs, Bowman could gift Hendrick Motorsports a special gift on their 40th anniversary year. A Cup Series championship.