Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Alex Bowman part of Hendrick trend of finding speed, Michigan up next

Alex Bowman is 100/1 to win Sunday at Michigan.
Alex Bowman on the repave at Michigan:
“It’s still super narrow – hasn’t widened out at all. The test was really narrow, so hopefully that will come with time. Kansas seemed to widen out pretty quick and some other places and Michigan just has kind of stayed how it is. We will see.”

Bowman on winning in Chevrolet's backyard:
“It would be really cool to win at Michigan for Chevy. It would be a really neat experience and I think we have a shot at doing it. We were really strong there in 2016, so hopefully we can pull it off.”

NATIONWIDE IS ON OUR SIDE: The Nationwide colors will be back on board the No. 88 Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. This will be the first primary race at the two-mile track for Nationwide on the No. 88 machine since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2014.

DOUBLE DUTY: Alex Bowman will pilot the No. 23 ISM Connect Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for GMS Racing this weekend at Michigan. Bowman has three Xfinity starts at the track, including one pole award in 2016. The 25-year-old will be back behind the wheel of the No. 23 Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway in July.

BOWMAN AT MICHIGAN: Bowman has five starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan, earning a best finish of 26th in 2014. In 2016, he was behind the wheel of the No. 88 machine for Hendrick Motorsports when the team qualified sixth and finished 30th due to ignition box issues on Lap 38. In 2015, Bowman ran the 100-lap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event for JR Motorsports, finishing 11th after qualifying 16th. The 25-year-old captured the pole for the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Michigan and finished seventh after leading 11 laps. Bowman has three career Xfinity starts at the track, leading a total of 18 laps and never finishing outside of the top 15. In 2012, Bowman ran the ARCA Racing Series event at the track and captured a second-place finish after leading 12 laps.

HOME TRACK: Four members of the No. 88 Nationwide team have ties to the state of Michigan. Crew chief Greg Ives grew up in Bark River, Michigan, which is approximately 443 miles from the two-mile speedway. Ives received his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Michigan Technological University (MTU). Race engineer Doug Wojcik grew up in Wisconsin but attended MTU while earning his engineering degree. He began his career as an intern at JR Motorsports following his graduation. Hauler driver Andy “Squigz” Quillan grew up in Belding, Michigan, which is approximately two hours from Michigan International Speedway. Quillan grew up a NASCAR fan and attended his first race at his home track as a kid. Scott Brzozowski, front tire changer, grew up in Sterling Heights, Michigan, which is just outside Detroit. Brzozowski started out as a member of the No. 24 over-the-wall crew before switching to the No. 88 in 2015.

IVES AT HOME: Ives has called the shots six times for the No. 88 team at his home track. The Michigan native has one top-five finish and three top-10s at Michigan in the NASCAR Cup Series, with his best finish of second coming in the spring of 2015 with driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2013, Ives was the crew chief for Regan Smith at JR Motorsports when the team led 14 laps on their way to capturing the victory. Ives has two Xfinity starts as a crew chief with one win and two top-10 finishes. From 2006-2012, Ives was a race engineer for the No. 48 team and captured six top-10 finishes.

GOODYEAR TIRE TEST: In April, the No. 88 team participated in a Goodyear tire test at Michigan International Speedway. Bowman turned 321 laps over the two-day test. Following the test, Bowman said that the team tried to see what the Nationwide Camaro ZL1 did on the track with every tire that Goodyear brought. The Tucson, Arizona, native said, “We have just tried to see what different tires did and what our car did on every tire, in order to have a little bit of an advantage for when we go back to Michigan.”
 

2018 Season

  • 16th in standings
  • 14 starts
  • 0 wins
  • 1 pole position
  • 1 top-five finish
  • 4 top-10 finishes
  • 65 laps led
 
 

Career

  • 95 starts
  • 0 wins
  • 2 pole positions
  • 1 top-five finish
  • 7 top-10 finishes
  • 268 laps led
 
 

Track Career 

  • 5 starts
  • 0 wins
  • 0 pole positions
  • 0 top-five finishes
  • 0 top-10 finishes
  • 0 laps led
 

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