CONCORD, N.C. – Alex Bowman knew he needed to take advantage of the extra track time that two NASCAR XFINITY Series races would give him this season.
He wasted no time doing just that.
Bowman drove the No. 42 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro to Victory Lane Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, earning his first career XFINITY Series win.
"I can't thank (Hendrick Motorsports owner) Mr. (Rick) Hendrick and Chip Ganassi enough for letting me drive this car," Bowman said. “To get my first win here at my second home in Charlotte means so much.”
Through Hendrick Motorsports’ technical partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing, Bowman was behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chevy for the first of two XFINITY Series races – his next will come at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 11.
He took the lead with 32 laps to go and never relinquished it.
“I have to give thanks to everybody who has made this possible,” he said. “To come here and be as competitive as we were, I was really pleased.”
Bowman -- who will climb behind the wheel as the full-time driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports starting next year -- hadn’t participated in a race since Homestead weekend last season when he served as a fill-in driver for the No. 88 team.
That made his win all the more meaningful.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve raced,” he said. “I was terrible on pit stops. I didn’t do a good job on pit road, but I felt like our restarts were pretty good. It feels amazing to finally get us one.
“It’s a dream come true.”