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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

When Alex Bowman decided to embark on his dirt racing journey, the dirt car community was excited to have a major Cup Series driver come over and test out the behemoths. But after his High Limit Racing accident set in motion a dangerous cycle of missing Cup Series races due to injuries, the Hendrick Motorsports driver decided to turn his attention to the tarmac.

But while many fans believed this would be the end to Bowman’s adventures outside of the Next Gen car, he believes the truth is far from it. The No.48 Camaro driver believes the major setback he’s had lately due to injuries outside of NASCAR must be addressed before he can truly focus on his winged car shenanigans. Denying the doubters on Twitter who felt Bowman had given up on dirt racing, the 30-year-old set things straight once and for all on the Dirtrackr podcast.

Alex Bowman shuts down doubters of his dirt racing future

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Setting aside the naysayers, Bowman revealed that he intended to never make it seem like he was quitting dirt racing in the first place. After all, even Rick Hendrick was eager to let his drivers participate in extra races to gain some newfound experience. Bowman pulled no punches when addressing the doubters, “I saw some clickbait like Twitter post the other day that I’m like quitting dirt racing snd it’s like, this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I’m not quitting, like I’ve missed 10 cup races in the last two years.

Bowman seemed to focus extensively on how he had missed more than a handful of races in the past two years due to multiple injuries, most of which were caused by incidents outside of the Cup Series. He added, “I need to not miss races for a couple of years and get back to where I can go back to dirt racing and not be so worried about it. But yeah, I mean I love dirt racing and I think the crossover is definitely big.”

Although his focus will primarily be on the #48 HMS garage, Bowman has always had a full-time season in The World of Outlaws on his mind. When the host asked Bowman when we could expect him to make good on that wish, he shared: “I think as long as I’m able to. As soon as I’m done Cup Racing, I would love to do the Outlaw Tour. I mean I think the areas of the country that I’ve never been to and that I want to see, the life on the road, kind of all of it. I want to do it for sure. It’s going to happen unless there’s a reason I can’t.”

Alex Bowman also shared that he ‘hated’ that he couldn’t race more dirt races. The 30-year-old also cleared the air on whose decision it was for him to sit out on dirt racing. The decision was made in Bowman’s mind before he had spoken to anyone else, ending the blame games occurring on social media. Bowman felt that spending his thirtieth birthday in a hospital all night woke him up to the reality of his Cup Series losses.

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While some of the community might be too harsh on Bowman’s decision, it’s safe to say that it’s only been implemented after a lot of thought. But despite the community being split over it, Bowman reveals how much crosses over from the Cup Series to dirt racing when the community is concerned.

Bowman believes Cup Series and Dirt Racing cross-overs are a win-win situation for all

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Reflecting on how different Dirt Racing has been for Bowman and how the fans have received him, the HMS driver felt both sides of the coin were equally impressive. He added, “You could definitely tell, you can almost pick out a dirt fan versus a NASCAR fan like if you go to a dirt race and there’s a cup race close by or whatever, you can pick out the differences but you know, fans on both sides were super cool and super receptive.”

While both worlds might seem to have their quirks, Bowman also believes that crossing over from NASCAR to dirt racing and vice versa is not only a great source of entertainment for fans but also one for building experience for racing drivers. So when he got a chance to experience a new style of racing, he aimed to grab the attention of the home crowd. Bowman felt like he was giving it his all to earn the respect of the dirt racing community, and that fire is still burning bright to this day.

Alex Bowman wants to continue winning races in Winged Cars and practice enough to become a regular face on the top step. Speaking on the prospects of new challenges and his commitment to come back in the future, Bowman concluded: “But yeah there is a ton of crossover, especially when the two (NASCAR and dirt racing) are close by each other, and you know drivers crossing over is only good for everybody. It brings new exposure to different racetracks and different series and whatever it is.”

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It’s safe to say Alex Bowman has no intentions to turn his back on dirt racing for good. Once we see his Cup Series effort stabilize, dirt racing fans won’t have to wait too long for him to return again!