Out of all the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, Alex Bowman looked like an odd man out in terms of on-track performances. Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott were jostling for the regular season championship, whereas William Byron had multiple wins to his name. Fortunately, Bowman also found his big break at the Chicago Street race, which helped him get into the playoffs.

However, the rumors and speculation surrounding his future at HMS surfaced again before the knockout stages. Competing in the playoffs is an enormous challenge in itself, but the deal with the off-track chaos and drama only adds to the pressure. In response, Alex Bowman came out publicly, announcing his continued role with the team. Thus putting an end to unnecessary distractions ahead of the Atlanta race, which Kevin Harvick feels, made him focus on racing and not off-track drama.

Alex Bowman repaid the trust shown by Rick Hendrick at Atlanta

Coming into the playoffs, Bowman wasn’t one of the top picks to have a deep run or make the Championship 4 race. In fact, in his last five races, he wasn’t even able to finish a race inside of the top 10, raising more concerns about his future performances. However, with a rational mind and the backing from his bosses at HMS, he got the job done in Atlanta with a P5. This was the best result from all four drivers on the team.

Although teams are expected to bring their A-game in the knockout stages. Kevin Harvick believes this was all made possible thanks to Bowman’s efforts to clear any doubts regarding his future role in the team. “Let’s go back to media day, right? I think Alex is having to answer all those questions about, Are you in the car? Are you out of the car? And really getting all that out of the way before he got to the racetrack was good for him,” the former SHR driver said on Happy Hour podcast No. 55.

On the other end of the spectrum, a strong championship candidate, Denny Hamlin, has found himself on the bitter end of things. He is far from the rip-roaring pace and streaks of consistent runs he put in early in the season. And he ended the Atlanta race P24 beaten down and wrecked on the final lap. All of this might be because of the pressure surrounding the charter deal tussle between his team and NASCAR. Which could put his two drivers’ futures in serious doubt.

We’ve often heard the term one win and you’re in. In Alex Bowman’s case, one race certainly helped him embark on a revival journey. And left Hamlin to do some soul-searching. Bowman is 27 points above the cutline, while the championship favorite Hamlin is right on the bubble after a dismal Atlanta outing.

Bowman could prove to be a playoffs underdog

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“We need to be faster, but we also need to execute right.” This was the attitude Bowman rolled into the playoffs with. And going by the results, it’s fair to say the #48 team couldn’t have hoped for a better start to this crucial run. While he is not expected to take the playoffs by storm, he can build on these strong results and convert them into a deep playoff run.

Moreover, he has tracks like Martinsville and Texas coming up where he’s already emerged victorious previously. Moreover, his eight career wins all have come at different venues. Be it short ovals (Richmond and Martinsville), a mile and a half (Chicagoland), or the Street Race (Chicago).

In fact, Talladega could help him add his first Superspeedway win in the next round. In 2024, he has been strong across the drafting tracks. He ended the Daytona 500 race with a P2 finish and followed that up with a P5 result at the Talladega spring race. So, you see, Alex Bowman is in just the right spot to script a redemption story.

If he does manage to reach the Championship 4 race, surely all the rumors and uncertainty around his time at HMS would cease to exist.