[autotag]Alex Bowman[/autotag]’s media day for the 2024 NASCAR playoffs started with a bang. Bowman was asked about his plans for the 2025 season, which may seem odd to some as his contract runs through the 2026 season. For the [autotag]Hendrick Motorsports[/autotag] driver, it wasn’t the first time he had dealt with such a question, and he didn’t hold back on his thoughts.
“Yeah, that rumor has certainly been annoying,” Bowman said. “Obviously my contract is through the end of 2026. All I can tell you is like what my bosses have told me, and that is that there are no plans to change anything. Yeah, rumors are just rumors. Hopefully they’ll get their announcements done so my rumors stop, obviously. Yeah, as far as I know, I’m driving the No. 48 next year.”
What rumor? Over the last month, the possibility of Bowman leaving Hendrick Motorsports and going to Spire Motorsports for the 2025 NASCAR season has been slowly growing. In his place, Justin Haley would drive the No. 48 car for Hendrick Motorsports after an impressive regular season stint with Rick Ware Racing in the No. 51 car.
https://twitter.com/nascaronnbc/status/1810123113587249309?s=46
The rumor started after Spire Motorsports announced that Corey LaJoie wouldn’t return to the No. 7 Cup car in 2025. Over the last few weeks, it has only picked up steam and has been going around NASCAR further than the noise on social media. Yet, does Bowman have any reason to doubt what his bosses are telling him?
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Bowman said. “I trust my bosses, and that’s what they’ve told me. So yeah, other than that, just focused on trying to be strong the next 10 weeks.”
Bowman will set this to the side and focus on winning his first career Cup Series championship in 2024. However, the chatter has only grown over recent weeks, and some within the industry are still convinced of the possibility, despite his comments on Wednesday. For now, Bowman will focus on what’s ahead, and he hopes that is a big playoff run with his No. 48 team over the next 10 weeks.
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