Alex Bowman: "Going to Daytona is like the first day of school for all of us"

Alex Bowman is 40/1 to win Daytona 500.

Alex Bowman on racing at Daytona:
“Going to Daytona is like the first day of school for all of us. We get to see the progress we made during the offseason, which is exciting. We ran pretty decent in Daytona last season but got caught up in a wreck late in the February race. This Nationwide team has the playbook for this track and I am looking forward to doing even better this season with the progress that has been made.”

Bowman on Daytona qualifying:
“It was important for my Hendrick Motorsports team to start off strong in Daytona last season. We had the new Camaro ZL1 body and it was great putting that brand-new car for Chevrolet on the front row for the DAYTONA 500. Starting off a season strong helps set up your momentum so early in the year. This Nationwide team has done a lot of work in the offseason to make our plate-track program that much stronger. Hendrick Motorsports has a reputation for being pretty good on these tracks, so I am excited to see how we unload this weekend and how we qualify and race The Clash.”

No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives on racing at Daytona:
“DAYTONA 500 you always treat a little bit special. You have the two weeks being down there. You have The Clash, which you are able to make in based on your accolades from the year before. It’s kind of a race to go out there and just learn. We weren’t in it last year with Alex kind of coming back and I think it hurt us a little bit because track time is track time. You always want to get on-track. Like we were talking about, the DAYTONA 500, you treat it special. This year it’s kind of unique because it’s the only race of that rules package. It’s going to be different when you go to Talladega and Daytona in July. We were talking about it being a throw-away race and it almost kind of is. You kind of go down there to win it anyways. You don’t really worry about things afterwards, but typically if you are able to save that car you can buff on it and make it a little bit better for Talladega.”

Alex Bowman will be available to members of the media on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 9:45 a.m. ET in the Daytona International Speedway media center.

NATIONWIDE ON BOARD FOR SPEEDWEEKS: The primary blue-and-white colors of Nationwide will be featured on the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in 20 NASCAR Cup Series events in 2019. Nationwide will adorn the hood of Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet machine throughout Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, for both The Clash on Feb. 10 and the DAYTONA 500 on Feb. 17. Last August, Hendrick Motorsports and Nationwide extended their primary partnership with Bowman and the No. 88 team for an additional two years beginning in 2019.

REIGNING POLE WINNER: Last February, the No. 88 Nationwide team and Bowman put the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the pole for the 60th running of the DAYTONA 500. Bowman posted a lap time of 46.002 seconds – 0.13 seconds faster than the outside pole sitter. The 25-year-old became the third-youngest pole winner in DAYTONA 500 history.

DAYTONA 500 REWIND: After leading the field to green in the 2018 DAYTONA 500, Bowman went on to lead a total of 13 laps throughout the event. The driver lost the lead on the first lap but regained his position up front on Lap 15. Bowman finished Stage 1 in the second position, earning valuable stage points. No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives told Bowman to remain cautious in Stage 2 and the No. 88 machine finished 14th at the conclusion of the stage. With two laps remaining in the event, Bowman got caught up in a multiple-car incident that sent the race into overtime, where he finished 17th.

FIRST WIN: A win next weekend in the DAYTONA 500 would be Bowman’s first win in the NASCAR Cup Series in his 117 career starts. Each of the last five DAYTONA 500s held on February 17 were won by drivers getting their first DAYTONA 500 win. Bowman would be the sixth different driver for Hendrick Motorsports to win the prestigious event, which would set a new NASCAR Cup Series record.

CLASH HISTORY: Following a pole win at ISM Raceway in 2016 while driving the No. 88 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports, Bowman entered the 2017 Clash with Nationwide onboard. Bowman started eighth in the 75-lap event. The driver soldiered through intense racing to bring home a third-place finish. The Tucson, Arizona, native will compete in the 2019 Clash event following his DAYTONA 500 pole win last season.

DUELING: Bowman will make his fourth start in the Duel qualifying races on Thursday, Feb. 14. The driver of the Nationwide machine ran the Duel event in 2014, 2015 and 2018. Last season, Bowman started from the lead in Duel No. 1 after capturing the DAYTONA 500 pole and kept his Camaro ZL1 clean and finished 14th after 63 laps.

PLATE TRACK SUCCESS: Ives has earned two of his three points-paying Cup wins at plate tracks. In 2015, he visited Victory Lane twice with Dale Earnhardt Jr., once at Daytona and once at Talladega. Ives won a Duel at Daytona in 2015 and 2016 with Earnhardt and has three Cup plate pole awards, including two at Daytona. In 2013, Ives called the shots for Regan Smith in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and led the driver to a win at Talladega. From 2006-2012, Ives was a race engineer on the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. During that time, he was part of one win (2006), one pole award (2008) and one runner-up finish (2009) at Daytona International Speedway.

INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER: Be sure to follow Daytona International Speedway (@disupdates) on Instagram on February 13 for a behind-the-scenes look at DAYTONA 500 Media Day courtesy of Bowman.

CHEVY STAGE: Bowman will visit the Team Chevy Stage at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 17, from 10:45 to 11:00 a.m. local time for a fan question-and-answer session. Fans will have the chance to meet Bowman and get their Hendrick Motorsports gear signed by the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 before the DAYTONA 500.

2018 IN THE REAR VIEW: In his first full-time season with Hendrick Motorsports last year, Bowman had his most successful year to date. The young driver led 71 laps throughout 36 events and captured three top-five results. Bowman accumulated 11 top-10 finishes in 2018 and posted an average start of 13.1 and an average finish of 17.0. The driver captured a career-best finish of third at Pocono Raceway in late July. He made it to the Round of 12 in his first Cup Series playoffs appearance in his career.