Alex Bowman had to spend a portion of his NASCAR Cup Series playoff media day dismissing rumors that he’s losing his ride at Hendrick Motorsports.
“That rumor has certainly been annoying,” Bowman said Wednesday. “My contract is through the end of ’26, and all I can tell you is what my bosses have told me, and that’s there are no plans to change anything. Rumors are just rumors.
“As far as I know, I’m driving the [No.] 48 next year and nothing is changing.”
Bowman has driven for Rick Hendrick since 2018. He signed a three-year contract extension with the organization before the start of the 2023 season, and sponsor Ally signed a five-year extension to remain on the car through the 2028 season.
“I trust my bosses, and that’s what they’ve told me,” Bowman said. “Other than that, just focus on trying to be strong the next 10 weeks.”
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It’s not new for Bowman to hear the rumor mill is trying to rid him of his job. But it reignited earlier this week when spotter Brett Griffin insinuated on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, which is a part of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s media network, that Bowman might be out of more than just the playoffs if he doesn’t advance out of the first round.
Bowman qualified for the postseason with a victory on the Chicago street course. He was sitting on the playoff cutline before the win.
“That’s a rumor that I’ve heard for a month and it got to the point where I picked up the phone and called everybody, and everybody said, ‘Absolutely not,’” Bowman said. “So that’s really all I have to go on, and I don’t have a reason to believe anything other than that. There’s no, ‘Oh, you need to do this to keep your job.’ It’s absolutely not (the case). Everything is fine.
“Beyond that, we need to go run better; it’s been a miserable month, and we haven’t executed at a high level at all, so we need to go run better the next 10 weeks. But we need to do that for us and our playoff run and for Ally and the 48 car. There’s no (ultimatum) you need to do this to keep your job. As far as I know, I’m not worried about that at all.”
Since his victory, Bowman has earned one top-five finish. He begins the postseason as the No. 12 seed with five playoff points.