Handling intense pressure is an ebb and flow in the lives of NASCAR drivers. In a competitive sport where every lap matter, the run-up to the playoffs is a time of extreme scrutiny. Drivers have been gearing up for the playoff bubble battle as the races intensify. NASCAR’s most triumphant team in history, Hendrick Motorsports, has also begun preparations for the upcoming races, as two of their drivers face the uncertainty of qualification.

While William Byron and Kyle Larson have been their best-performing drivers, Chase Elliott is stuck in an unexpected zone in the table. Their fourth driver Alex Bowman too has undergone a trajectory quite similar to Elliott’s. But Bowman feels that such struggles are part and parcel of his profession. Speaking to FOX Sports in an exclusive interview, the #48 Camaro driver addresses his state of affairs.

“It’s life as a race-car driver”: Alex Bowman called struggles a part of life

The circumstances weren’t always this harsh for the 30-year-old. Starting the season with a pole-winning performance, he had six top-10s in his first seven starts in 2023. But ever since, things have only gone downhill. He has a worrying streak of 10 races outside the top 10. To add to that, a vertebra fracture in April worsened things.

“Are you stressed out over the playoffs and points and winning to get into the playoffs? Or is that just life as a race-car driver?” 

“It’s life as a race-car driver when you have a 60-point penalty, and you missed four races,” claimed Bowman as he clarified his miseries this season. Despite pointing out his problems, he understood that worrying about what has already happened was inconsequential. Earlier this season, his and Byron’s teams were docked 60 points for violations in the greenhouse.

“But that’s the situation we’re in. Obviously, we were in a really good spot before all that stuff happened, and we’re not now. We’ve just got to do our best to overcome it. I feel like some of that I had nothing to do with, and the other part of it, I had a ton to do with it. We’ve just got to do our best to make up for it.” says the pole winner at Daytona.

Alex Bowman felt there is still a lot left to salvage from the season, and with six races remaining, turning things around will need a humongous effort. As the conversation went on, he presented his take on how things could shape up in the coming days.

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Bowman had “been dealt with a sh**ty hand” amid similar case to Chase Elliott

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“Honestly, anywhere we go with Hendrick Motorsports, you feel like you have a chance to win,” said Bowman establishing his chances. At Atlanta, he finished 32nd with a crash to crush his hopes of getting any more points. The crash cut his tire down and left the vehicle spinning on the 160th lap. Despite that, he believes that there was much more to observe from their performance.

“But being two of my better racetracks — which is crazy to think about as bad as I was at Richmond for so long — I’m excited to go to those places. I feel like even though we crashed and didn’t finish where we needed to, Atlanta (a couple races ago) was a step in the right direction as far as we ran strong all day. We were putting a good race together.”

On being asked about his adaptability to the roller coaster of a season, he added, “Certainly, I’ve been prepared to handle the downs — I’ve handled a lot of those. That’s the way it goes sometimes. Not everything’s easy, and I’ve kind of been dealt a sh**ty hand this year… As rough as this year’s been, I’ve been through way worse. So I’ll survive.”

It’s definitely time to shift the momentum to their side for the Hendrick Motorsports’ #48 team. To leave the obstacles behind and put forward their best efforts would be the best option to ensure Bowman’s qualification.

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