Alex Bowman races John Hunter Nemechek at Bristol for the Food City 500 ( Photo: Josh James | The Podium Finish)
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Bristol made a triumphant return to concrete in Sunday’s Food City 500, giving the fans an action-packed afternoon full of unexpected and excessive tire wear and memorable battles.
Alex Bowman qualified his No. 48 Chevy back in the 29th position and strived to do what every other driver was trying so hard to achieve, save their tires.
“I think we all saw it coming in practice, somewhat,” Bowman told NASCAR.com. “I don’t think we thought it would be that bad. I thought the racetrack would lay a little bit of rubber and kind of move to the top, but I mean, we knew in practice, like 35 laps, tires were on cords, so try to make the most of it there.”
Alex Bowman races around Harrison Burton at Bristol in the Food City 500. ( Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
Bowman finished outside of the top 10 in both Stages 1 and 2, choosing to save his tires over gaining track position. The Joe Gibbs Racing drivers dominated, even running in a 1-2-3-4 order for a portion of the race. The Hendrick Motorsports camp, however, was not as lucky in their running order.
“I don’t know that we really did anything to work together as teammates. I’m sure on the pit boxes, they’re giving each other a lot of info,” Bowman said. “Not that we didn’t work together. We just really weren’t around each other until we got them at the end, and so just trying to outsmart guys around you. There are times you want to push, and like, at any point, you can pass a car in front of you, but it’s like, what’s the price you pay on the other side of the runs, so just try to be smart about it… feel like we did a pretty good job.”
Alex Bowman waves to the Bristol crowd. (Photo: Josh James | The Podium Finish)
During Stage 3, Bowman worked his way into the top five, seemingly having figured out a good ratio of gaining track position to focusing on conservative tire wear. Even given the tire drama of the Food City 500, Alex Bowman maintained his composure and scored a much-needed top five for the No. 48 team.
“I think it’s been a tough couple weeks, so glad to finally get a solid run and wish we could’ve ripped the fence like normal here for the fans, but it still was a good run for us,” Bowman said.
Alex Bowman finished fourth at Bristol, a good day for him as he stayed out longer on a set of tires before pitting for the final time. He didn’t sound like he was sweating it too much. pic.twitter.com/83K5dz7EYk
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 18, 2024
NASCAR is set to run at COTA next Sunday at 3:30 P.M. ET on FOX.
