“We Got Another Week”: Despite Rick Hendrick’s Ship on the Verge of Sinking, HMS Star Refuses to Bow Down

They might have gotten two cars into the playoffs but the 2023 season has been, in no way, memorable for the 14-time Cup Series-winning team. Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman are yet to qualify for the playoffs. With just two races to go in the regular season, it seems like a far-fetched dream.

Only a win could have landed them a playoff spot. However, Elliott missed out narrowly and finished second, while his teammate finished fifth. Of late, Elliott has had gloomy appearances on camera but the #48 driver Bowman is not yet ready to tap out.

Gasping at straws for a win, Watkins Glen presents itself as a gold mine to the 30-year-old at a time when his fifth-place finish is only going to rev up those winning ticks. While the stakes are high, for now, Bowman laid bare what made him settle for less at Indianapolis. 

Poor qualifying cost Alex Bowman an opportunity to win

After the Indianapolis race, Bowman was asked, “You said you’re in a must-win situation. What is the difference from the top five strength today to get up into victory lane?”

Bowman said that he would have had a much better chance of finishing in first place had his qualifying session gone better and that he had a week to prepare for the next race where he will undoubtedly try to win.

“Honestly, I think the way that these road courses string out without the stage cautions, qualifying becomes a lot more crucial and I blew my round two lap in qualifying so that just lets those guys get so much farther away from you. So, needed to qualify a little bit better but we got another week to keep trying,” the #48 team driver said.

While Bowman was not close to clinching the win, he scored 38 points after finishing fifth in the race. His teammate Chase Elliott, on the other hand, was a lot closer to punching his ticket into the elite playoff list.

Elliott finished in second place, narrowly losing out to Michael McDowell, and scored 49 points. One of the reasons why Elliott missed the chance to take the win was a slow pit stop. The former Cup Series champion adopted a no-nonsense attitude in his analysis after the race.

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Chase Elliott explains what cost him the win at Indianapolis

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Going into the race, in a pre-race conference, Elliott sounded quite resolute. He quelled doubts with his response, stating, “We’re all good, we’re just, we’re continuing to keep our heads down and work and that’s the only way we know how, you know? For us, we’re just continuing to go through our process every week and make sure we show up to the racetrack prepared, and when we get here, work through it.”

However, after the race, Elliott was dejected yet candid. “Needed just a little bit more,”  he said after the race. It was a slow pit stop that might have cost the race and Chase admitted that he did lose time on the stop.

“Yeah, I just lost too much ground under that pit cycle. Was trying to pace myself for the long haul, kinda had that green flag feel so… and I thought I did that, just needed a better job getting through the traffic,” the HMS star added.

For the longest time, Elliott has been saying that the only way he could get into the last 16 is to win a race but so far he has been unable to do it so far. With just two races to go, will he be able to do it? Let us know your thoughts.

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