Alex Bowman loves racing and being a NASCAR Cup driver. He\u2019s been with some of the smallest and lowest-funded teams including BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing, and for the last eight seasons, he\u2019s also been with the biggest and best-funded organization in the sport, Hendrick Motorsports. But wait, there\u2019s more.<\/p>\n
Bowman was Dale Earnhardt Jr.\u2019s hand-picked choice to replace him behind the wheel of the No. 88 following the 2017 season, a year Bowman sat out without a ride. Bowman had replaced Earnhardt in several races in 2016 after Junior suffered a serious concussion, missing the entire latter half of the season.<\/p>\n
Although there have been instances where Bowman wondered if he\u2019d be retained by team owner Rick Hendrick, including at the end of the 2023 season when he missed the playoffs and finished a disappointing 20th in the standings, he\u2019s always had his contract renewed.<\/p>\n
When asked by Jeff Gluck of The Athletic on what continues to drive him, Bowman didn\u2019t hesitate with a forthright answer. \u201cProbably just continuously trying to be better,\u201d he said. \u201cRacing Cup at this level, it\u2019s really easy to lose sight of the fact that you\u2019re living the dream. You\u2019re doing what you always wanted to do growing up.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s so hard and so competitive, and there\u2019s so much pressure all the time that it becomes work. And then you think winning solves everything, or winning will make everything better. And it really doesn\u2019t, because you still have to go the next week. You can still get your a** kicked just as bad the next week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Consistency remains a problem for Bowman<\/p>\n
Speaking of that, Bowman has had a problem with consistency throughout his career, even when he hit the jackpot joining Team Hendrick. The winner of eight Cup races to date, he can win one week and finish in the bottom fourth of the field the next.<\/p>\n
For example, thus far in the first 20 races of 2025, although winless, Bowman<\/a> finished second at Homestead, only to finish 27th the following week at Martinsville, 35th at Darlington and 37th at Bristol. Or how he finished fifth at Kansas, then wound up 29th at Charlotte, 36th at Nashville and 36th again at Michigan.<\/p>\n