CONCORD, N.C. – Alex Bowman took home a fourth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday after battling hard with the rest of the field throughout the 260-lap event. With this result, Bowman has two top-five finishes under his belt at the Georgia track in the 2021 Cup Series season.
“We had a really good race car, just not good enough to contend for the win,” Bowman said. “I feel like we were really fast on the short runs, and I could run with those guys.”
While he may have struggled to find long-run grip, he found speed after starting 17th and made his way into the top 10 by the competition caution on lap 25. After that, he was in the top five for the majority of the race but was unable to bridge the gap between himself, race winner Kurt Busch and runner up Kyle Busch.
“I felt like I was just hanging out and trying not to burn my tires off,” Bowman said. “It never really paid off for me in the long run. I struggled at the end of runs and was really lane-limited at the end of the race. I needed the bottom to make the car turn.”
Even though Bowman would have liked to have slightly better handling on his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, he posted his second-best finish at the 1.5-mile track on Sunday. During the spring race in March, he crossed the finish line third, making this season his most successful at Atlanta.
Sunday was the last race at Atlanta before it will be repaved after 24 years. Bowman said the porous surface is what gives the track its unique characteristics, although he knows safety is an issue. During Sunday’s race, a red flag was issued after chunks of the asphalt created a small pothole in the middle of the track.
"I'm still sad about it but I do understand why they're doing it and the need to repave it. …,” Bowman said. “As a driver, this place is so much fun. You can move around; you can slide the race car and do all kinds of things that for years and years we aren't going to be able to do here. So, you don't want to see it go, but I do understand it."