INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY (Indianapolis) — Alex Bowman will drive the No. 48 car for Hendrick Motorsports in 2027 and then retire from full-time racing competition.
Bowman and HMS announced his one-year contract extension Thursday night as well as the plan for him to conclude his full-time career after the season.
The 33-year-old Bowman, who has eight Cup wins in 378 starts, has battled injuries in recent seasons. He missed five races in 2022 because of a concussion and three races in 2023 because of a broken back suffered in a sprint-car accident. He missed four races this year because of vertigo.
“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what’s next, and this feels like the right decision at the right time,” Bowman said in a news release. “The sport asks a lot of you, and I’ve learned it’s important to listen to your body and make the right choices for yourself.
“To say I’m incredibly grateful to Mr. Hendrick, our partners at Ally and Chevrolet, and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports would be an understatement. They believe in me and gave me the biggest opportunity of my life.”
Multiple injuries in recent years have upended Alex Bowman’s racing career.
Bowman, who gets daily physical therapy on his back, said even if he had not suffered the injuries he did, he likely would be considering retirement at this time. He wants to start a family and never saw himself racing much beyond age 35.
“Concussions definitely stack up, right?” Bowman said during a news conference Friday. “We all know that. I’ve had my fair share, unfortunately, but 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. This sport has given me a lot. I love this sport. Obviously, I love NASCAR racing. I think the guys that raced forever, that’s super cool. That just was never going to be me. … I’m just ready to be a normal person in a lot of ways.”
After his vertigo issues in March, Bowman said he thought this would be his final season. But he said he eventually wanted to race one more way, believing it will be best for him and HMS. He didn’t say it, but HMS Iikely will have more Cup-ready options as far as who replaces him next year.
He said making the announcement he would retire after 2027 helps him be ready for one more full season although he admitted hearing he has 53 more Cup races made “that number sound really big.”
“Coming out and saying it and being like next year is it makes it easier to be all-in for the next 53 [races],” Bowman said in the news conference. “I’m ready to rip, and I’ve always been all-in, but I’m not worried about not wanting to do the work.
“That has never been a problem for me, and excited to have to 53 more chances at it.”
Bowman made his Cup debut in the 2014 Daytona 500 and has worked at Hendrick since 2016, where he started as a simulator driver and then served as a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 10 races later that season. He replaced Earnhardt Jr. after his retirement following the 2017 season.
“Alex has meant so much to our organization for a long time,” team owner Rick Hendrick said in the news release. “He’s overcome adversity, won big races and represented our team and partners with professionalism, personality and class.
“Alex is a tremendous talent in the race car and an even better person outside of it. We’re proud he’ll have the opportunity to finish his full-time career with us on his terms. He’s family.”
Missing four races this year, Bowman is 29th in the series standings and is not in Chase contention. He has made the postseason seven times in his career with a best overall finish of sixth in 2020.
“I would love to end on a really high note, but … [next year] is not going to make me want to stay,” Bowman said in the news conference. “I think health-wise, mental health-wise, everything, this is what I needed to do, that that was best for me and things that I want to do outside of the car.
“If it was my choice, I wouldn’t have made a retirement announcement. I would have just raced until then the next year and disappeared. But that’s not how this sport works.”
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