CONCORD, N.C. -- After spending the last three races at short tracks, the NASCAR Cup Series will have to switch gears and ready themselves for the monstrous Talladega Superspeedway venue.
Alex Bowman, who is coming off his first short-track victory at Richmond Raceway, has brought fast Chevrolets to superspeedways over the past several years. Twice he earned the pole award for the DAYTONA 500 and has been on the front row a total of six times after qualifying sessions at superspeedways.
“Talladega – similar to Daytona – the pack racing is unique to those two racetracks,” Bowman said. “That’s really exciting for the fans; they enjoy it a lot. From a driver’s perspective, it’s not entirely the most fun thing you can do in a race car, but that’s alright. There’s just a high likelihood of tearing some stuff up. Hopefully, we can stay out of the mess and be there at the end.”
Bowman’s best finish of second at the Alabama track came in April 2019 when he tailed teammate Chase Elliott to the finish line. The spring races at Talladega, in particular, seem to be Bowman’s strong suit. Along with his runner-up result two years ago, the 27-year-old driver notched an eighth-place finish in April 2018 and a placed seventh last spring at the track.
While a driver needs to be extremely aware and adept to finish well at a superspeedway, teamwork is also key. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE echoed teammates Elliott and Kyle Larson in saying the Hendrick Motorsports crew will need to be more in sync than ever to produce strong results at the unpredictable track.
“We can’t win that race by ourselves and it’s hard enough to get to the end, in general,” Bowman said. “We got to be there at the end and I’m sure we’ll be working with a lot of our Chevrolet teammates; definitely with our four cars at Hendrick Motorsports.”
One teammate who will be on Bowman’s mind before, during and after the race is former pit crew member William “Rowdy” Harrell. The Alabama native and his wife, Blakely, passed away in November and Bowman already dedicated his Richmond win to the Harrells.
“Racing in 'Dega this weekend is really special because this was Rowdy’s home track,” Bowman said. “If we could pull off a win this weekend, I know that would mean the world to him.”
Bowman and the No. 48 team will try to earn their second win in a row when they roll off the grid at Talladega this Sunday. The race will start at 2 p.m. ET and be on FOX.