Alex Bowman talks with reporters after winning the pole position for the Daytona 500 during NASCAR auto race qualifying at Daytona International Speedway, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) (Photo: John Raoux, AP)
Here’s the sentence that should appear prominently in every story about Tucson native Alex Bowman:
On June 30, 2019, at Chicagoland Speedway, he became the first Arizona driver to win a race in the then 71-year history of NASCAR’s premier Cup Series. Only four years earlier, that seemed as unlikely as NASCAR’s best buckling-up for a hooligan Pink Jeep race in Sedona.
After a 2015 learning season with the small-budget Tommy Baldwin team, Bowman found out he had been fired. On Twitter.
He was “driving” the simulator for Hendrick Motorsports in 2016 when the call came to sub for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had a concussion, in 10 races. He turned down chances to drive for lesser teams and spent all of 2017 in the sim, helping develop chassis set-ups. When Earnhardt retired, Bowman got the full-time job in 2018. He won a second time in 2020, at California’s Auto Club Speedway. This season, following Jimmie Johnson’s departure from the Cup Series, Bowman took over.
His number 48 Ally Chevrolet will sport different graphics in Sunday’s Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway. The Best Friends Animal Society will be showcased, with Ally making a $1,000 donation — matched by Bowman — to an animal shelter in every Cup race city. It’s $10,000 if he wins. Bowman, 27, has two dogs, Roscoe and Finn.
Bowman took time for a Q&A with the Arizona Republic; answers have been edited for length.
Question: How does it feel to drive the number 88, made famous by Dale Jr., and now the 48, which was Jimmie’s number?
Answer: It’s really cool to drive the 88 and take the 88 back to victory lane. Now, I have that challenge with the 48. That’s really special. At the same time, for me, it’s just another race car.
Q: Any extra pressure knowing your contract expires after this year?
A: To me, it’s the same as the last three years. Every year is a contract year for me. I don’t think it adds, or takes away, anything. I want to run well for me, not for anybody else telling me that I need to run well. I give it all I’ve got every week. You have to do that, whether it’s a contract year, or whether you have a 20-year contract. You can’t lay over at any time in this sport. I have to maximize everything and do everything right, on and off the racetrack.
Q: Is there a leadership gap among the drivers now that Jimmie has left NASCAR racing?
A: You’re not going to replace Jimmie Johnson, as a person, or the driver he is. We’re going to miss Jimmie. He was huge for our team and our sport. Just because he’s not driving full-time in the Cup Series anymore, he’s still always there to help.
Q: What did you learn working with Jimmie?
A: Just watching how he treats people. How he manages his relationships. Everybody can learn something from that. I’m appreciative of all his help and support.
Q: It often seems you race with a chip on your shoulder. Did that come from Baldwin’s team firing you on Twitter?
A: There was a chip on my shoulder a long time before that. Just from not getting some of the opportunities I thought I deserved and wanted. I always felt like, and continue to feel like, I really need to prove myself as a race car driver. I want the results to speak for themselves. The situation I had been in for a couple of years, leading up to that, the chip was already there. It’s a lot of motivation, for sure. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun, but looking back, it probably made me a better person and a better driver. The way the sport is today, everybody’s memory is really short. It’s like, “What did you do for me today?” You’ve got to continue to prove yourself.
Q: You know a lot of fans will be cheering for you at Phoenix Raceway. Is there any “home-field” advantage?
A: I don’t think it’s as much as in other sports. It gives me a little more confidence before the race. Once you get in the car that kind of goes away.
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Q: How does it feel to be the first Arizona native to win a NASCAR Cup Series race?
A: It’s pretty crazy to believe because there’s been a lot of really talented guys from Arizona. No one will ever be able to take that away from me.
Q: You built a winged Valvoline sprint car over the winter. Will you race it?
A: The plan is for C.J. Leary (2019 USAC sprint car champion) to drive it whenever we get time. It’s going to be tough but (I) hope to race it a little bit.
Q: What’s the fastest you’ve ever driven on the street?
A: The speed limit. (Laughs.)
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