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Alex Bowman

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Alex Bowman
Born (1993-04-25) April 25, 1993 (age 31)
Tucson, Arizona
Awards2011 K&N Pro Series East Rookie of the Year
2012 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
81 races run over 3 years
Car no., teamNo. 88 (Hendrick Motorsports)
2016 position52nd
Best finish33rd (2015)
First race2014 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race2016 Ford EcoBoost 400 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 1
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
50 races run over 5 years
Car no., teamNo. 88 (JR Motorsports)
2016 position25th
Best finish11th (2013)
First race2012 Dollar General 300 (Chicagoland)
Last race2016 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 13 3
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2015 position95th
Best finish95th (2015)
First race2015 Careers for Veterans 200 (Michigan)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of November 20, 2016.

Alexander "Alex" Bowman (born April 25, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He has competed in the ARCA Racing Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series, finishing 11th in the latter series' 2013 standings. He currently competes part-time in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. He is also an interim driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series, serving alongside Jeff Gordon for the remainder of the 2016 season.

Racing career

Bowman's 2010 Pro Cup car
Bowman's 2013 Nationwide Series car

Beginnings

A native of Tucson, Arizona, Bowman started his racing career on short tracks in Arizona and California at age 7,[1] driving quarter midget cars in United States Auto Club (USAC) competition before, at the age of 17, moving to full-bodied stock car racing.[2] In February 2010, Bowman was injured in an accident during a USAC race, suffering a fractured clavicle and rib.[3]

Bowman drove in selected races in the Pro Cup Series in 2010, before moving to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East with X Team Racing for 2011.[2] Bowman finished sixth in series points, winning Rookie of the Year.[4]

ARCA Racing Series

Bowman also competed in two ARCA Racing Series events during 2011 for Venturini Motorsports, at Madison International Speedway and Kansas Speedway, winning both events.[5]

He moved full-time to ARCA for 2012 for Cunningham Motorsports as a development driver for Penske Racing,[1] winning races at Salem Speedway, Winchester Speedway and Iowa Speedway over the course of the year.[6]

Xfinity Series

Also in 2012, Bowman made his debut at the national level of NASCAR competition, driving for Turner Motorsports in the Nationwide Series at Chicagoland Speedway.[7] He finished 17th in his debut race;[8] he also drove for RAB Racing in the Nationwide Series at Kentucky Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway,[9] and for Turner at Dover International Speedway, towards the end of 2012.[10]

In January 2013, it was announced that Bowman would be running the full Nationwide Series season for RAB in 2013, competing for Rookie of the Year honors.[11] He would win his first career Nationwide pole at the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas.[12] Bowman would win another pole at Texas later in the season, but was released by the team prior to the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.[13] Bowman ended the season with six top-tens in 32 starts.[14]

Sprint Cup Series

In January 2014, Bowman tested for BK Racing as part of Preseason Thunder before the 2014 Daytona 500 in the No. 83.[15] On January 20, the team announced his hiring for the No. 23 car for 2014, running the full 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season for Rookie of the Year.[16] During the season, the success of Josh Wise's Dogecoin-sponsored car prompted a sponsorship effort[17] to fund a bitcoin-sponsored car at Atlanta for Bowman with a goal of raising $100,000.[18] The goal was subsequently dropped to $25,000,[19] but failed to raise enough funding.[20]

Bowman returned to the Nationwide Series driving the No. 80 for Hattori Racing Enterprises at Dover,[21] while driving the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevy at Charlotte[22] and Phoenix.[23]

On January 30, 2015, it was announced that Bowman would drive the full 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season in the No. 7 car for Tommy Baldwin Racing. He failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 after he was caught up in a multi-car wreck in his duel race. At New Hampshire his car erupted in flames after rubber from a blown tire got into the engine. He was able to return to the track.[24] During the season, Bowman made starts in the Xfinity (formerly Nationwide) Series with Athenian Motorsports and a Camping World Truck Series race with JRM.

On November 11, Bowman joined JRM for nine races in the No. 88 for the 2016 Xfinity season.[25] On January 21, 2016, Bowman parted ways with Tommy Baldwin Racing, losing his Sprint Cup ride.[26]

Bowman returned to the Cup Series at Loudon in the New Hampshire 301, driving the No. 88 for Hendrick Motorsports as an interim driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who would miss the remainder of the 2016 season because of concussion issues.[27] Despite running in the top ten, including as high as eighth, Bowman blew a tire and hit the wall in turn one on lap 272, relegating him to a 26th-place finish.[28]

Bowman and Jeff Gordon would alternate the No. 88 car for the balance of the 2016 season. Bowman won his first career pole at Phoenix. The Phoenix event turned out to be his best race of his career. Bowman led the most laps with 197 and tried to make what would have been the winning pass on Matt Kenseth with 6 laps to go. While passing Kenseth, Bowman got tapped from behind by Kyle Busch, spinning him out. Bowman recovered to finish 6th.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2014 BK Racing Toyota 29 23
2015 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet DNQ

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

* Season still in progress.
1 Ineligible for series championship points.

References

  1. ^ a b Hansen, Greg (January 4, 2012). "Local teen is on the fast track to stardom". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, AZ. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Racer Alex Bowman". K&N Filters. 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  3. ^ "Alex Bowman Condition Update". United States Auto Club. February 27, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  4. ^ "Year In Review: NASCAR K&N Pro Series East". WMGT-TV. Macon, GA. January 3, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  5. ^ "Bowman hopes to go 3-for-3 on ARCA". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Daytona Beach, FL. February 14, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  6. ^ "Alex Bowman - 2012 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
  7. ^ Hansen, Greg (September 11, 2012). "Tucsonan Alex Bowman is living NASCAR dream at top speed". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, AZ. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  8. ^ "Tucson's Bowman takes 17th in NASCAR Nationwide debut". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, AZ. September 16, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  9. ^ "Alex Bowman, No. 99 Penserra Securities/ Allegiant Air Toyota Camry, Kentucky Preview". RAB Racing via SpeedwayMedia. September 20, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  10. ^ Adamczyk, Jay (September 11, 2012). "September 2012 Nationwide Series News". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  11. ^ "Bowman Will Try For Rookie Of The Year". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. January 21, 2013. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Bowman wins Nationwide pole at Texas". Yahoo! Sports. April 12, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  13. ^ "Alex Bowman out at RAB Racing". Yardbarker. Fox Sports. November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  14. ^ Gluck, Jeff (April 8, 2014). "12 Questions with NASCAR rookie Alex Bowman". USA Today. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  15. ^ "SPRINT CUP DRIVER ROSTER FOR PRESEASON THUNDER". NASCAR. January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  16. ^ Estrada, Chris (January 20, 2014). "Cup: Alex Bowman, Ryan Truex confirmed at BK Racing". MotorSportsTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  17. ^ Cuthberthson, Anthony (July 25, 2014). "Cryptocurrency Round-Up: Bitcoin vs Dogecoin in Nascar and Ecuador Paves Way for National Cryptocoin". International Business Times. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  18. ^ Hofman, Adam (July 24, 2014). "NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Alex Bowman Embraces Bitcoin and Announces Support for Bitcoin Crowdfunding Effort". Bitcoin Magazine. Retrieved November 16, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "There is Still a Chance to Support Alex Bowman and the First Bitcoin Themed Car". BK Racing. August 19, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  20. ^ "Bitcoin23 & NASCAR". Tilt.com. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  21. ^ "2014 Nationwide Series Team Chart". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  22. ^ Winningham, Brett (October 2, 2014). "NASCAR NNS: JR Motorsports Signs Alex Bowman for Charlotte". Rubbing's Racing. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  23. ^ Eddinger, Mark (October 30, 2014). "Mackena Bell Set for Nationwide Debut; Alex Bowman and Scott Lagasse Jr Pick up Rides". Sports Media 101. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  24. ^ "Alex Bowman joins Tommy Baldwin Racing for 2015 Sprint Cup season". Fox Sports. January 30, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  25. ^ "Alex Bowman to Drive Nine Races for JR Motorsports in 2016". JR Motorsports. November 11, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  26. ^ Spencer, Lee (January 21, 2016). "Bowman and Baldwin part ways". Motorsport.com. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  27. ^ "DALE JR. TO MISS SUNDAY'S RACE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE". NASCAR. July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  28. ^ DeCola, Pat (July 17, 2016). "BOWMAN FINDS CONFIDENCE BEHIND WHEEL OF THE NO. 88". NASCAR. Retrieved July 18, 2016.