CONCORD, N.C. -- Alex Bowman said he and the No. 88 team were "in a good place" ahead of Sunday's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The 27-year-old driver has four top-10 finishes in the last five races, including the first two playoff events of the season. He could have secured another top-10 result at Bristol last week if he didn't have to stop for a tire issues.
"I think we’re in a good place, for sure" Bowman said. "Darlington went really well for us. Richmond we knew was probably our weak point of the Playoffs. Bristol was going to be a solid top-five night until we had that tire issue. The last couple of weeks, I think we’ve been really strong. …
"We’re going to some race tracks that are notoriously really good for us compared to where we’ve been over the last couple of weeks. I’m really confident. I think (crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the guys are working really well together and we should be really good."
The Cup Series field was at Las Vegas for the second race of the season and Bowman finished in 13th. However, he said he doesn't expect this race to be too similar, mainly due to track conditions.
"I think the tires are probably the most crucial part of what we do, so for it to be different, it’s definitely a big unknown," Bowman said. "It’s supposed to be a little bit more grip. So, if it’s more grip, I’d say the race will be similar to February, just in the sense that the track is going to have less, so maybe it will even out a little bit. But it’s going to be really hot and really slick, so it’ll be interesting to see how the tire fall off is and just how it reacts.”
With the way the playoff races shook out this season, the Round of 12 is different than it was just a year ago. Bowman has to focus on Las Vegas, then Talladega and round out the segment at the Charlotte Roval.
"The playoffs are hard. You have one bad race and the whole thing is kind of blown apart if you don’t have a ton of playoff points to lean on," he said. "I don’t think it’s any better or worse for us. I’m glad we have a shot to win in every round. If we make the Round of 8, we’re going to probably need to win to make the Round of 4. So, it’s definitely good to have those opportunities."
Watch Bowman and the No. 88 team compete for a win on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.