Alex Bowman’s Been Having A Career Year In 2020; Looking To Lock Into NASCAR Championship 4 At Texas

Story By: KELSEY TUCKER / HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS – CONCORD, NC – The 2020 season is turning out to be a career year for Alex Bowman and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team.

For the first time in his career, Bowman secured a spot in the Round of 8. Prior to 2020, he had not captured a stage win, but this season he has collected four after 33 events.

Bowman has more top-10s (13) and has led more laps (396) this season than before. The 27-year-old driver has finished inside the top 10 in seven of the last nine races this season, which is a career best.

THIRD IN KANSAS: Last weekend, Bowman and the No. 88 team collected points in both stages and captured a third-place finish at the end of the 267-lap event in Kansas. The Tucson, Arizona, native battled handling conditions at the beginning of the race but a round of adjustments on pit stops allowed the No. 88 machine to close the gap on the leaders in the final 15 laps. Following the event, the No. 88 team is now sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings going into this weekend’s race in Texas.;

BOWMAN IN TEXAS: Bowman will make his 11th start at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. The 27-year-old driver’s best qualifying and finishing position of fifth came in the fall event last season after leading 11 laps. Bowman also has two starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series that took place in 2013. He qualified for the pole in both races and led a combined seven laps before finishing 14th and 18th, respectively, in those events.

2020 STATS: The No. 88 team has earned 255 points so far in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, which ranks fourth among drivers. Bowman is fourth on the list of drivers with the most stage points (57). The team has the third-best average finish (8.7) and the fifth-best average running position (9.8) in the playoffs. Bowman has run 1,503 laps inside the top 10 and owns five top-10 finishes in the playoffs, which are tied for first. He has the most top-10 finishes (seven) in the last nine races among drivers.

1.5-MILE STATS: Bowman has led 226 laps on tracks measuring 1.5 miles in length this season. His best finish on an intermediate track came this past weekend at Kansas Speedway when the team finished third. Bowman has two top-five finishes and three top-10s at 1.5-mile facilities this year. The No. 88 team has also won three stages on intermediate tracks this year.

LONE STAR STATE STATS FOR IVES: Crew chief Greg Ives has called the shots for the No. 88 Chevrolet 11 times at Texas Motor Speedway. The Bark River, Michigan, native’s résumé includes four top-five finishes and five top-10s. Ives’ best finish at the track came in 2016 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second. The crew chief also has four starts in the Xfinity Series at Texas, including one win from 2014 when Chase Elliott led 38 laps to bring home the victory. As a race engineer for the No. 48 team from 2006-2012, Ives was part of two wins, nine top-10 finishes and one pole award with driver Jimmie Johnson.

WELCOME BACK, ACRONIS: Hendrick Motorsports recently announced a new partnership with Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection. Acronis has been featured on the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in two events this season at Dover and will be on board this weekend at Texas for its final primary this season. The global technology company will become a major associate partner of the organization’s four-car stable beginning next season.

SPEEDY ON PIT ROAD: The No. 88 pit crew ranks seventh in the NASCAR Cup Series with an average four-tire stop time of 14.13 seconds after 33 events this season. The team includes fueler Jacob Conley, tire carrier Rowdy Harrell, jackman Dustin Lineback and tire changers Scott Brzozowski and Devin DelRicco.

GOOD DISCOUNTS: During the month of October, No. 88 team sponsor ChevyGoods.com is providing discounts on various accessories on its website. Customers can receive 10% below MSRP on Adam’s Polishes and NOCO accessories purchased online with code CHEVYGOODS. With code TRUCKHERO, customers can receive 20% below MSRP on Truck Hero accessories purchased online.