Heading into the elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend, Alex Bowman finds himself in a precarious position. After suffering two consecutive disastrous pit stops, his chances of making the playoffs have been severely threatened, as he now trails the playoff cutline by 35 points.
According to NASCAR.com reporter Cameron Richardson, a 40-second pit stop mishap at Darlington Raceway, followed by another slow stop at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, has pushed Bowman into what is effectively a must-win situation at Bristol to keep his playoff ambitions alive.
Major Overhaul in Pit Crew Aims to Reverse Recent Failures
The impact of those costly errors on pit road prompted Hendrick Motorsports to make substantial changes in Bowman’s pit crew ahead of the Bristol race. Several original crew members were reassigned to different teams, while fresh personnel were brought in to bolster the No. 48 team’s performance and salvage Bowman’s playoff hopes.
Bowman revealed he was only somewhat involved in these decisions. He said,
“I wasn’t super involved in it, had some conversations, but not super deeply involved in it,”
while speaking at Bristol on Friday. He stressed the crew has been quick this season overall, stating,
“Those guys have been super fast at points throughout this year, and they’re all really great athletes and do a good job. We’ve just had a bad two weeks at a time that we can’t have a bad two weeks.”
The driver emphasized that the setbacks are not about assigning blame to any individuals but about the failure to execute under pressure. The extreme delay at Darlington squashed a promising run, and the Gateway mistake only increased the urgency for quick improvement. With the playoff cutoff looming, the team was forced to act decisively.
Describing the recent performances, Bowman called them “embarrassing.” He added,
“We had a really good summer, and the switch turned off for us, for sure. It’s kind of mortifying how bad we’ve been. It’s not from a lack of effort, like everybody’s working so hard at HMS, and our whole team is. We’ve just not put days together like we need to.”
Bristol Represents a Do-or-Die Moment for Bowman’s Season
With his playoff prospects fading rapidly, Bowman understands that caution is no longer an option. Trailing by 35 points means that only a race win will extend his championship hopes.
About the pressure, Bowman explained,
“It’s really not that different what we normally would. We’re in such a tough spot, it’s almost less stressful, right? It’s not like we’re really close to the cutline and you’re trying to make sure you don’t make any mistakes. We got to make something happen.”
The mental toll of recent weeks has been significant. Bowman admitted,
“Mentally going through these last couple of weeks has not been a fun time for me… Just trying to run the best we can this weekend and be as prepared as I can be to go out there and do my job.”
Despite the changes, Bowman maintains respect and friendship with his former pit crew members, saying,
“I’m definitely friends with all those guys and appreciative for all their hard work… It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they had an amazing day on pit road on the 77 car and looked really good.”
Now, everything depends on Bowman’s performance at Bristol. He has one chance to reverse the misfortunes of the last two weeks and keep his playoff title hopes alive.
