Alex Bowman enters Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond with the points lead. (Photo: Mitchell Richtmyre | The Podium Finish)
RICHMOND, Va. – Alex Bowman is typically known for his witty, dry sense of humor in concert with his smooth, sometimes quiet frontrunning ways.
While eyes may be on the flashier, bombastic drivers of the circuit who captivate headlines and attention for their on track moves, Bowman strikes like a shrike.
This year, Bowman may be finally shedding a nickname that he has not embraced for one that has bestowed the likes of Mark Martin and Terry Labonte – “Mr. Consistency.”
By all means, Bowman has been incredibly strong and smooth after the season’s first six races, tallying three top fives and five top 10 results. More importantly, he holds the points lead heading into Sunday’s race at Richmond Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The 2021 spring race winner seems to like the 0.75-mile track, attributing his confidence toward his liking of long green flag runs.
“We’ve had some strong runs here. Honestly, last year in the spring, we had a really strong run,” Bowman said. “We had a tire issue on one run that probably made our day look worse than it was. Really the day we won, we were really good on long runs. We struggled a little bit on the short run and had an uncontrolled tire to start Stage 3, so I had to start at the back and still drove to third before we got that late caution.
“We’ve kind of been hit and miss here a bit, but hopefully I can apply some of that long-run knowledge that I have or what I’m looking for in the racecar to help us tomorrow. I feel like you’re going to see a lot of long runs for the most part. With no downforce on the thing, it’s going to be a lot about taking care of your tires.”
Tire degradation seems to be the name of the game despite the lack of any pre-race on-track activities due to inclement weather. A new, low downforce package may play a hand or two with early, green flag laps but it will not change how Richmond’s abrasive surface chews up tires.
“Long runs and a ton of tire fall-off… kind of the same Richmond we’ve always seen,” he said. “This is the one place that I don’t think that the downforce package is going to really change much. The tire fall-off always has been so high since this place has gotten worn out; it’s always been kind of what it is.
“I don’t even really feel like the race changed much when we went from the previous gen car to this car, so it’ll be interesting to see. I could be totally wrong but I think we’ll hopefully have a good day.”
It seems like Bowman is a break or two from finally driving into the winner’s circle for the first time in 2023. In the midst of a winless streak dating back to last year’s Las Vegas spring race, the Tucson native has overcome quite a bit since his most recent victory. Namely, the affable racer overcame concussion symptoms from a crash last fall at Texas Motor Speedway.
Back to his competitive, savvy form and as dangerous as can be, especially in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro, it seems like that swagger has returned for the 29-year-old racer. Although his regular crew chief, Blake Harris, is in the midst of his four-race suspension, it does not hurt to have a familiar friend atop the No. 48 team’s pit box.
“It’s been cool. He had a short retirement, right?” Bowman said with his trademark smile. “I’m glad to have Greg (Ives) back and glad to have that depth at Hendrick Motorsports to have a guy like that to fill in when needed. I enjoy working with Greg, and it’s been good to have him back.”
Editor’s Notes
Nathan Solomon contributed to this article directly on-site from Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.
