CONCORD, N.C. -- After Alex Bowman scored his second top-five finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway this year, crew chief Greg Ives and the No. 48 team are feeling optimistic as the dynamic duo are having continued success this season.
Ives currently is preparing for this Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and is ready to make the right calls to put his driver in victory lane. He has been studying every detail of the 1.058-mile track to make sure Bowman is as prepared as possible when he rolls off the grid this weekend.
“Yeah, I mean it all really depends on that PJ-1,” Ives said on SiriusXM. “I know they were applying that and how much is that going to wear off? It’s definitely going to be hot. … It’s like any racetrack. When you run well at it, it’s fun to drive and when you struggle, it’s not a lot of fun to drive.”
This season, Bowman has notched three wins, six top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. His success has sparked lots of momentum with the No. 48 crew after Bowman ran well at racetracks where the 28-year-old driver traditionally hasn’t been successful. Through 21 races, Bowman has notched wins at Richmond Raceway, Dover International Speedway and Pocono Raceway this year.
“I feel like coming off a Richmond win and coming off of some of our road course success, we can go into New Hampshire with some positive confidence and compete for a top-five, if not a win,” Ives said. “Starting out in a good spot and just have to stay focused and stay positive that we can get it done.”
Be sure to tune in this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN to see Ives, Bowman, and the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports teams in action at the track in Loudon, New Hampshire.