Nearly 10 years after Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in the position of addressing why he was stepping away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing, his successor, Alex Bowman, was in a similar position.
SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Nearly 10 years after Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in the position of addressing why he was stepping away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing, his successor, Alex Bowman, was in a similar position.
A day after making the major announcement, Alex Bowman talked Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway about why he will stop racing Cup full-time after 2027.
“This really isn't a physical thing. I think if I would have had no injuries over the last 10 years, this time frame was still going to be this time frame. This is kind of always what I wanted," Bowman said. "I think the guys that race forever, that's super cool. That just was never going to be me."
Bowman and Hendrick Motorsports "talked about for a really long time" about the three-year window of 2026 through 2028 being when he would consider stepping away from full-time racing. A reported consultation with a financial advisor and the issues with vertigo helped make his timeline clearer.
"Whether it was 2026, ‘27 or ‘28, that's something we've talked about for a really long time and what I've always had circled. I think with what went on in March, I feel like in my head, I had looked at this year being it quite a bit," Bowman said. "Just trying to make the best decision for me and obviously the best decision for Hendrick Motorsports, I think I really want to end on a more positive note than kind of how this year has been, so that gave me a little more motivation to come back and go one more year. I think it is better for me, personally. It's better for Hendrick Motorsports."
Bowman's No. 48 team sits 29th in the owner points standings, well outside of Chase contention -- in stark contrast to being one of the top-16 teams in previous seasons.
Hendrick is working hard to rebound. Plus, Bowman believes he still has enough left in him and more to prove for at least one more season that he wants to come back.
“Like, I mean, everything goes perfect and we go win a championship and I can walk out that way… that would be amazing, right? That's not going to make me want to stay. I think for me - health-wise, mental health-wise, kind of everything - this is what I needed to do that was best for me and things I want to do outside of the car," Bowman said.
Bowman said he has been working more now than he ever has at any point in his entire career -- training harder than he ever has before, turning his legs to Jell-O in a road bike climb challenge with Josh Wise and doing physical therapy on his back.
Bowman added his crash at Michigan International Speedway "did as much damage" to his back as the sprint car crash that sidelined him in 2023.
"I think since then is kind of when everything's popped back up and I have had to be constantly working through that," Bowman said. "Since then, it’s just been a lot of work to kind of try to stay on the right side of things. Post-Michigan and Mexico and kind of everything that went on there, I probably got it to an okay spot. And then, I kind of forgot about it; let it build up and it kind of took a minute to get it back under control this year."
Now that he's going to retire, that work isn't going to stop.
"I think for me, coming out and saying it and being like ‘next year's it’ makes it easier to be all in for the next 53 weeks. I mean, I'm ready to rip. I’ve always been all in. I'm not worried about not wanting to do the work. I think that has never been a problem for me and I'm excited to have 53 more chances at it," Bowman said.
Physical health has been a stressor for Bowman but it's not the main contributor to his retirement decision.
"I don't think physical health is a number one contributor here in this situation for me... I still feel like I can do it and I think with everything that we've figured out through the course of this season, everybody helping me in the athletic center with PT every day, I think I'm in a good spot there and can continue doing it," Bowman said. "Much more of it is things I want to do outside of the racecar; other goals I have in life and stuff I want to do
Bowman admitted the last 10 years haven't gone the way he would've wanted it to. However, eight wins and a decade of success with NASCAR's most storied team is a dream for someone who was barely scraping by before then.
"Even though the stat sheet might not read what I want it to read, it's still been great in a lot of ways. In 2016, before I filled in, I was broke; selling my seats to pay rent and barely getting by. To end up at Hendrick Motorsports for a decade, it's been incredible. It's been a lot of fun and it means a lot to have the support of everybody at HMS," Bowman said.
While names have been floated for the No. 48 car in 2028, the here and now at Hendrick Motorsports is all about Bowman.
"Today... is about Alex. And in the near future, it'll be about Alex and his story. We'll begin that process on what's next for the No. 48 team in 2028 very soon," said Hendrick Motorsports president and general manager, Jeff Andrews. "He's been with us for 10-11 years now and he's family. We want to do the right thing for him and allow him to write his story as he exits this sport."
Bowman will still be around in some capacity -- maybe not as a broadcaster, however.
“I don't know that anybody wants to listen to me on the broadcast, if I'm being honest. I don't know that I would be any good at that. That looks really hard. The broadcasting thing, I would say some dumb stuff and probably get fired pretty quickly. I can't believe that hasn't happened to me in my driving career," Bowman joked. "I plan to stay at Hendrick Motorsports, probably on the performance side, and do some stuff there. There are some other cars that I want to go race and drive some really fun stuff."
Whatever Bowman decides to do next, he has the blessing and the opportunity to do it with Hendrick.
"There are certainly some other opportunities within the Hendrick organization on the performance side. He's a car guy. He loves cars and he loves to go fast. Mr. Hendrick has quite a few cars, as we know, so there's a tie there. I wouldn't be surprised if Alex is around our campus and part of the Hendrick family for quite some time after next year," Andrews said.
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