September 15, 2025

Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman had a rollercoaster performance during Saturday's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Starting in the 15th position, Bowman needed to basically win or have help in order to advance in the playoffs. In the first stage, he suffered a setback when he spun late in the stage. As a result, he was mired back in the pack and ended the first stage in 27th. In the second stage, Bowman made up ground by taking care of his car and managing his tires better than most other drivers, and made it up to the top 10. Extra cautions during the stage helped to solidify his position in the top 10, as others fell off the lead lap while Bowman remained on the lead lap. He ended the second stage in the third position, gaining several stage points, but it would not be enough to overcome the points deficit he was facing without help. In the final stage, Bowman ran inside the top five for most of the stage and was a threat to compete for the win, even getting on a tire strategy that aimed to have him take the lead from Brad Keselowski, Carson Hocevar, and others. A late race caution derailed Bowman's plan, forcing him to stay out on old tires for the race's final restart. Unfortunately for Bowman, his old tires would not give him enough grip to maintain his position, and he fell back to eighth, where he finished the race. Despite earning the sixth top-10 finish of his Cup career at Bristol, Bowman was 10 points short of advancing to the Round of 12 and was eliminated from the 2025 playoffs.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com