CONCORD, N.C. -- It was an up-and-down race for the Hendrick Motorsports teams at Talladega Superspeeday on Sunday after various accidents and car issues affected all four drivers. However, there is no formula in taking on a superspeedway; a driver could be running well and get caught up in "The Big One."
That happened to Alex Bowman at the end of Stage 2. The No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was inside the top 10 when he was hit from the side, knocking him out of the race and relegating him to a 38th-place result.
“Obviously this is not the way we wanted to end our day,” Bowman said after the race. “Things like this just happen at places like Talladega. We had a good Ally Chevrolet (Sunday) and (crew chief) Greg (Ives) had some really good adjustment calls on pit road.”
William Byron was involved in the same accident as Bowman but his damage wasn’t nearly as severe, allowing him to reach the checkered flag at the end of the afternoon. The 23-year-old driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet finished second on Sunday, marking his best result at the Alabama track.
“I felt like we had a shot there at the end; just not quite enough race car to lead the race,” Byron said. “But it was a really good day. We had some damage, but the guys did a great job fixing it. We’ll go to Kansas (Speedway) and hopefully have a really fast car there.”
Like Byron, Bowman is dusting his shoulders off and focusing on the race at Kansas this Sunday. The last time the Hendrick Motorsports drivers were at the track for the playoffs in October, Byron finished eighth and Bowman led all his teammates with a third-place result.
Overall, Bowman especially has competed well at Kansas, notching two top-five finishes in the last four races at the venue. He has also placed inside the top 10 in four of the last five races there.
“This team is really looking forward to going to Kansas next week,” Bowman said. “That is a really good track for us and, hopefully, we can rebound in a week.”
Byron, Bowman and the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports teams will work to earn the organization’s fourth win of the year this Sunday at Kansas Speedway. The race will start at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.