Alex Bowman Driver Bio

One year after his impressive debut with Hendrick Motorsports, the team named Alex Bowman the full-time driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series beginning in 2018.

In his second full-time season with Hendrick in 2019, Bowman captured his first Cup Series win. After scoring three consecutive runner-up finishes at Talladega Superspeedway, Dover International Speedway and Kansas Speedway in the spring, Bowman was able to break through in the win column a month later at Chicagoland Speedway in June. He led 88 laps and battled Kyle Larson in the end before leading the final six circuits en route to the checkered flag.

Along with the victory, Bowman recorded seven top fives, 12 top 10s and a 14.4 average finish en route to 12th in the standings.

Bowman made the playoffs for the second consecutive season driving the No. 88 Chevrolet full-time for Hendrick Motorsports, reaching the Round of 12 for the first time. Five of his 12 top 10s came in the 10-race postseason.

For the 2021 season, Bowman took over the No. 48 Chevrolet for seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who retired from full-time racing. The move came after he recorded a win at Auto Club Speedway and a career-best 15 top 10s, 440 laps led and sixth-place finish in the 2020 standings.

In 2016, Bowman piloted the No. 88 in 10 of the final 18 Cup races in place of injured driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Tucson, Arizona, native made his debut in the No. 88 on July 17 at New Hampshire and went on to earn three top-10 finishes with the team, including a sixth-place result at Phoenix, where he won the pole position and led a race-high 194 laps.

Hendrick Motorsports signed Bowman on Oct. 6, 2016, following his first four races driving for Earnhardt and working with No. 88 crew chief Greg Ives. In 2017, he has been an integral part of the simulation and on-track testing programs for the 12-time NASCAR Cup Series champions and manufacturer Chevrolet.

At 7 years old, Bowman began racing on the short tracks of Arizona and California, driving quarter-midgets before advancing to USAC sprint cars. He transitioned to full-bodied stock cars at age 17, initially making starts in the 2010 Pro Cup Series and later the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, where he finished sixth in points and won rookie of the year.

Bowman also entered two ARCA Racing Series events in 2011, winning them both — at Madison International Speedway and Kansas Speedway. After Team Penske signed him in 2012, Bowman posted four ARCA wins — Salem, Winchester, Iowa and Kansas — and led 20 percent of the season’s total laps to earn another rookie of the year award. He made his first NASCAR national series start Sept. 15, 2012, at Chicagoland in the Xfinity Series, which he ran full-time in 2013 for RAB Racing.

As a 21-year-old rookie, Bowman made his NASCAR Cup debut in the 2014 Daytona 500. Over the 2014 and 2015 seasons, he started 71 Cup events while running full-time for BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing. Notably, he competed twice in the 2014 Xfinity Series and once in the 2015 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series for Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports, which is affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports.

In 2016, Bowman made nine Xfinity Series starts for JR Motorsports, recording one pole position, three top-five finishes and seven top-10s. His 10 Cup Series appearances for Hendrick in 2016 included top-10 results in playoff races at Chicagoland, Kansas and Phoenix.