The opening race of the first Playoff round has wrapped up with Kyle Larson taking the chequered flag. In the process, he booked his berth into the Round of 12, and was the first to do so. It was also a relatively decent day for Hendrick Motorsports, with William Byron and Chase Elliott in the Top 10. The only outlier was Alex Bowman, who crashed out of the race and was classified in 33rd place.

Since he isn’t in Playoff contention, it does not affect him too badly, but the only thing hurting is his pride.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman endured a torrid time at Darlington

It has been a season to forget for the 30-year-old driver. Though he has had a few decent finishes in 2023, including four Top 5 finishes. Unfortunately, it was not quite the win that he desperately craved. To make matters worse, he was out of action for a few races due to injury, so the pressure was on to reach the Playoffs. Unfortunately, he failed to make the cut, as did Chase Elliott, so they will be stuck playing backup.

While three of the Hendrick cars did well, Bowman had a nightmare race. Sometime during the race, he was defending his position from Daniel Suarez. Unfortunately, he pulled off a late block, and that resulted in the two drivers tangling and compromising their races.

Both Bowman and Suarez were out of the race, along with Harrison Burton who happened to be caught up as an innocent victim.

Talking to Frontstretch, an apologetic Bowman after the race, said “I meant to block low. Didn’t realize that he had gotten outside or I wouldn’t have dumped him. I was just trying to get my angle back in the corner.”

“He blocks me whenever I’m around him. I knew we needed to hold on to all the track position we could. We were so good on long runs, but too tight on the short runs. It didn’t work out and I didn’t know he was outside of me. I did mean to block him low because he does block be every time I’m around him.”

“That’s part of it sometimes, but move on to the next one.”

READ MORE: “Not Getting Over Your Skis” – HMS Star Ironically Takes a Subtle Jab at Chase Elliott’s Failure

The #48 driver will now try and help William Byron reach the Round of 12

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With Larson locked into the next round of the Playoffs, William Byron will now have his turn. The best opportunity would be for him to win the race and automatically seal his berth. However, in the event that does not happen, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott will definitely band together.

Additionally, there is the team’s championship to be concerned about. Bowman and Elliott may be out of contention for the driver’s title. However, the two of them could still earn valuable points for Hendrick Motorsports.

WATCH THIS STORY: Rick Hendrick’s Team Slip-Up Exposed by NASCAR World After Chase Elliott’s Bitter Misery.