TALLADEGA, Ala. – With fewer than five laps to go Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, Alex Bowman had his eyes squarely fixed on the front of the field.
In Stage 1, the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 had capitalized on his top-10 starting position to move up to second before the green-checkered flag waved.
In the second segment, he paced the field for his first laps led of the season before once again picking up valuable stage points with a second-place finish in Stage 2.
Then, with the laps winding down, he raced his way to the runner-up position one final time.
“Big props to Chevrolet and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports – they brought great race cars here,” he said. “We had a great Nationwide Chevy from the time we unloaded. We showed a lot of speed. We all stuck to our plans and executed really well.”
With the white flag in sight, just one driver stood between Bowman and a win – his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott.
After working with him throughout the race, Bowman rode right behind the No. 9 Mountain Dew/Little Caesars Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and pushed Elliott further out into the lead.
“I appreciate his selflessness,” Elliott said of Bowman. “There were times when he could have canned me and moved on. He didn't. Stuck to it. That went a long way. I really appreciate that. He deserves a lot of credit. Team Chevy deserves a lot of credit in general, but especially him today.”
Coming into the final turn on the final lap, Bowman seemed poised to make a move to challenge Elliott for the win, but a caution flag flew along with the checkered flag, cutting the dramatic battle to the finish line short.
“It would have been fun to try,” Bowman smiled. “But I’m happy for Chase and Nationwide and Axalta and everybody that lets us keep doing this thing. I’m glad to kind of turn things around.”
Elliott took home the race win and Bowman earned a runner-up result, his career-best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series.
It marked the fifth time that Hendrick Motorsports has earned a one-two finish at Talladega.
Now, Bowman and the entire organization will look to build on that momentum.
“Props to everybody back at home at Hendrick Motorsports and the fab shop and the engine shop and everybody that makes this deal possible,” the driver said. “It’s been a rough start to the year and these guys deserve way better than the finishes they’ve had. So, to come home second is not a win, but it’s headed in the right direction.”