What do you do when a fly buzzes around your ear? You swat the fly and get around to finishing your work. Similarly, a sinister buzz of rumors has irritated the Hendrick Motorsports fold recently. Prior to his inevitable intervention, his driver himself spoke out in length about his career safety. After all, spending seven seasons under Hendrick—clinching eight career victories, and qualifying for the playoffs every season except an injury-laden 2023—is no joke. So all hands on deck, Alex Bowman is out of the hot seat.

Alex Bowman’s late-season resurgence came just in time while Rick Hendrick’s other Chevrolet drivers were dominating. On one hand, Kyle Larson and William Byron were consistently battling their Toyota rivals, and on the other, Chase Elliott was writing his redemption story in Texas. Meanwhile, Bowman quietly bided his time, ultimately seizing the moment with a rain-soaked victory at the Chicago Street Race.

However, a streak of poor finishes starting in Indianapolis raised concerns about Bowman’s future among NASCAR experts. But with a top-five finish at Atlanta and Rick Hendrick’s backing, the narrative quickly shifted. But the rumors raged on the side which was pretty evident on Sept 4 at the Playoff Media Day when Alex Bowman was bombarded with a series of questions that weren’t really about the post-season.

The questions were feeding off of a series of rumors circulating on social media, which notoriously implied that he would not return to his No. 48 team next season. Bowman patiently answered then but the frustrations were evident. The Tucson, Arizona-native, who was handpicked to substitute a retiring Dale Jr in 2018, said, “My contract is through the end of 2026 and all I can tell you is what my bosses have told me. And that’s that there are no plans to change anything. Rumors are just rumors.

“Every conversation I’ve had with my bosses is it’s unfortunate and it’s rumors that we’re not even really a part of, which makes it difficult. Like, I don’t think there are any plans or anything on the HMS side.” And now, it looks like Bowman need not worry anymore because Mr. H did not hesitate to swat the buzzing rumor.

After weeks of rumors, Mr. H has finally put the speculation to rest. As reported by NASCAR journalist Alan Cavanna, Hendrick stated, “Boss is happy. We’re happy”. Asked by @Jordan_Bianchi if Alex Bowman will “unequivocally” be in a HMS car next year, Rick Hendrick says yes.”

Bowman signed a three-year deal with HMS, a part of HMS’s five-year deal with Ally Financial in 2023, and his future is secured through at least 2026 with his three-year contract. “When Ally makes a commitment to something, they’re all in,” Mr. H had said earlier this year. It looks like rumors were just rumors after all.

Additionally, HMS vice chairman, Jeff Gordon also addressed the rumors as he spoke to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. He said, “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.”

Further pushing it on the Silly Season, he said, “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.”

Bowman soared to the front row

As speculation was rife about Alex Bowman’s seat, the driver was busy paving his path.

• All that comparison with his teammates turned to dust as the No. 48 driver clinched the topmost finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway the past weekend. After starting 11th, the Ally Racing team clinched stage points in both segments with a pair of third-place finishes.
• Then on the final restart, Rick Hendrick’s stud made a daring three-wide move on the front straightaway to clinch a top-five result. The way he proved his doubters wrong impressed veteran driver Kevin Harvick as well. Meanwhile, Larson was removed early in a stage 1 crash. Byron finished 9th and Elliott clinched 8th.

Bowman was aiming for the victory and yet did not shy away from congratulating his team. “It drove awesome all day, super proud of the Ally Racing No. 48 team,” Bowman said of his car after the 400-mile main event. “Had a great driving car for sure; wish a couple things went different there between seven and five (laps) to go. We just got ourselves back to 13th for one of those restarts and had to be really aggressive to get back to the top five.” 

He added, “Wish I could have put myself in a little bit better of a position at the end, but obviously a great points day and a great day for Hendrick Motorsports on the No. 48 team.”

Evidently, Alex Bowman is staying true to the Hendrick spirit. He already laid a stellar path in the playoffs, which may lead to a championship; who knows?

What do you think of Bowman winning a championship?