INDY RC REBOUND: Last Sunday, Alex Bowman showed off his road racing skills as he nabbed a top-five finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. His strong weekend started when he qualified ninth on Saturday. Bowman finished the opening two stages in eighth, before maneuvering to fifth by the end of the 200-mile NASCAR Cup Series event. His top-five result at Indianapolis now gives him five career top-fives on road courses.
PUSH TO THE PLAYOFFS: Heading to Watkins Glen International this weekend, Bowman currently ranks 20th in the driver points standings. He is 80 markers behind the provisional playoff cutoff line. Despite a 60-point penalty in April and missing three points-paying races in the spring with an injury, Bowman still can make the top 16 for the playoffs. In 21 starts this season, the 30-year-old driver has four top-five finishes, seven top-10s and the DAYTONA 500 pole award.
ROAD TESTED: Bowman has two runner-up finishes on road courses in his time at Hendrick Motorsports – at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 2019 and Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in 2022. The Tucson, Arizona, native is one of two drivers with multiple second-place showings without a win on this track type. Earlier this year, he finished third at COTA and with his top-five result at Indianapolis, he joins teammate Chase Elliott as one of four drivers with multiple top-fives on road courses in 2023.
HARRIS ON THE ROAD: Crew chief Blake Harris has two top-five finishes and four top-10s in eight road course starts atop the pit box. His teams on courses that turn left and right have an average start of 11.4 and an average finish of 14.5.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: In addition to the Cup Series race this weekend, Bowman will also get behind the wheel of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Hendrick Motorsports. He will take on the New York-based serpentine track with the aim of notching the first win in the No. 17 Chevy since its return in 2022. Last year, Bowman made one start in the team’s Xfinity car and finished second at Indianapolis. In his career, he has one win in the series, which came in 2017 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with HendrickCars.com as a sponsor.
RESTART ME UP: Bowman ranks as the sixth-best driver on restarts in 2023, according to data from Racing Insights. That mark is second-best among the Hendrick Motorsports quartet as teammate Kyle Larson is tied for third in this statistical category.
SAVE THEM ALL: Bowman and primary partner Ally are teaming up this year to bring back the Best Friends Animal Society donation effort. This week, the duo will make charitable contributions to Pawz and Purrz Animal Rescue, Inc., which serves the Southern Tier region of New York. Bowman and Ally will donate $4,800 to Best Friends and Pawz and Purrz Animal Rescue, Inc. Ally will increase its donation to $10,000 if the No. 48 team wins on Sunday.
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his mindset heading to Watkins Glen: "Watkins Glen (International) is a place I have struggled at historically, so being able to get some laps in the Xfinity (Series) car always helps. It doesn’t translate directly to our Cup car, but it’s time on track. We are coming off of a top-five finish, so I don’t see why we can’t go run well again this Sunday."
Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the momentum the No. 48 team has heading to Watkins Glen: "We had a great weekend in Indy – getting stage points and a top-five finish always bodes well for our confidence. The fact that we had speed at a road course and are heading to another definitely puts some wind in our sails. Alex (Bowman) is also running the Xfinity (Series) car and will be able to make laps ahead of the Cup race on Sunday, so there is a lot of momentum in our corner at the moment. We are just looking to capitalize on it and try to make our way into the playoffs." | 
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