“This weekend will be a little different since we are able to qualify. That will give us a little more knowledge about the car before taking the green flag. We had strong cars in Darlington, and I am confident that everyone back at Hendrick Motorsports is building dominant Chevrolets for the Charlotte events.”
Bowman on the importance of racing on Memorial Day weekend:
“It is always special honoring the men and women in the Armed Forces, and we will have United States Army Staff Sgt. Scott W. Brunkhorst on our ChevyGoods.com/NOCO machine. Scott passed away in 2010 from injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an IED. It will be an honor having him on board and hopefully we can put the car in victory lane for his family and friends.”
Greg Ives on the physical aspect of the Charlotte 600:
"The Charlotte 600 race is one that shows strength and endurance of the team, from driver to pit crew. Being the third race in a week will be a test for Alex's physical conditioning and our ability to adjust the car through changing track conditions. We are looking forward to getting back to the racetrack and represent Scott W. Brunkhorst and his family.”
STARS AND STRIPES SALUTE: During Sunday’s 600-miler at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Alex Bowman’s No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/NOCO Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will honor U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Scott. W. Brunkhorst. The car will feature a patriotic design with red, white and blue stars and stripes for the Memorial Day weekend race. Check out the scheme here.
A FALLEN HERO: Brunkhorst, whose name will be featured on the windshield of Bowman’s Camaro on Sunday, was in the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team and the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The 25-year-old native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, lost his life in Afghanistan on March 30, 2010, from wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an IED.
DARLINGTON RECAP: Bowman started and finished second in Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway – both career-bests at the track. The 27-year-old driver led 41 laps and ran inside the top-two positions for 204 of 293 laps with an average running position of 2.8. He left the 1.366-mile venue on Sunday sitting a career-best second in the standings. For Wednesday’s encore race at Darlington, Bowman started from the 19th position after the field was inverted from the finishing order of Sunday’s event. He finished 18th and sits third in the standings going into Charlotte.
GOT THE GOODS: The May 24 and 27 events at Charlotte will again feature partners ChevyGoods.com and NOCO on the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. In addition to the events at Darlington last week, the black and yellow paint scheme was showcased during NASCAR’s recent hiatus at four tracks in the eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series, including Bowman’s first iRacing win at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26. In January, Hendrick Motorsports announced its partnership with ChevyGoods.com, which includes primary sponsorship of Bowman for 26 events. Associate brands that will be featured are Adam’s Polishes, NOCO and Truck Hero.
BOWMAN AT CHARLOTTE: Bowman has seven NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Charlotte oval, including top-10 results in his two most recent races there: ninth in May 2018 and seventh in May 2019. The Tucson, Arizona, native has also competed in four Xfinity Series events at the track, including his first career NASCAR national series victory in October 2017.
1.5-MILE STATS: Bowman has 50 combined starts at eight different 1.5-mile tracks with one win, three top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. The driver’s first Cup victory came at Chicagoland Speedway on June 30, 2019, after leading 88 laps. His average finish of 7.89 over the last nine races on 1.5-mile tracks is the second-best of all drivers, and his six top-10 finishes over the last nine are tied for second-most. He has led 177 laps in the last nine events at 1.5-milers.
RETURNING IN 2021: On May 16, Bowman announced via Twitter that he would be back at Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 after signing a one-year contract extension with the team. Since joining the 12-time NASCAR Cup Series champions full-time in 2018, the driver has two wins (Chicagoland in 2019 and Auto Club Speedway in 2020), 10 top-five finishes, 23 top-10s and one pole award (2018 DAYTONA 500). He competed in the Cup Series playoffs in 2018 and 2019 and has already secured a berth in 2020 by virtue of his victory at Auto Club.
IVES AT CLT: For the eighth time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, crew chief Greg Ives will call the shots at the Charlotte oval for the No. 88 team. His cars have posted one top-five finish and three top-10 results, including last year’s seventh-place finish with Bowman in the 600-mile event. The Bark River, Michigan, native was also a NASCAR Xfinity Series crew chief for four Charlotte events in two years for JR Motorsports. In 2014, Ives led driver Chase Elliott to the pole position in the fall race that saw the team lead 66 laps and finish eighth. All told, the crew chief has two top-10 results at Charlotte in the Xfinity Series and has led a total of 94 laps there. In addition, he was a race engineer for seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson between 2006 and 2012 when the No. 48 team won the 2009 Charlotte fall event and captured seven top-10 finishes and two pole awards at the track.
HOMETOWN TRACK: Two members of the No. 88 team claim Charlotte Motor Speedway as their home track. Scott Denton, the backup transporter driver, grew up in Belmont, North Carolina, and attended his first NASCAR race at the 1.5-mile venue back in 1988. Jackman Dustin Lineback grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, and attended East Carolina University from 2007-2011. While at ECU, Lineback played football for the Pirates while earning his degree. Learn more about Lineback here.
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