Alex Bowman Wins Damp, Soggy Grant Park 165 at Chicago

Alex Bowman celebrates winning the Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Course in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, July 7, 2024. (Photo: Kevin Bowman | The Podium Finish)

CHICAGO — Alex Bowman found himself in the right position at the right time in a soggy running of the Grant Park 165 on Sunday afternoon.

For the past 80 races Bowman started in the NASCAR Cup Series, it was frustrating results short of a victory. It was not for a lack of effort from the Tucson, Arizona, native.

Along the way, Bowman suffered a concussion from an accident in the 2022 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway and a broken vertebrae at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, from a sprint car crash.

Battered but not defeated, Bowman returned, reacclimatizing to being in his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with determination and focus.

Whether in dry or damp conditions, Bowman was a factor for the rain shortened 58-lap race. Starting from the eighth position, the Hendrick Motorsports racer finished sixth in Stage 1 won by Shane van Gisbergen.

Once Stage 2 was underway, contenders fell by the wayside as the 2.2-mile street course claimed cars with Windy City disposition. van Gisbergen made contact with the wall after Chase Briscoe spun in Turn 6. While Briscoe was able to continue his efforts, van Gisbergen’s day was over only 24 laps into the race.

Not longer after, the red flag was out for an hour, 43 minutes and second due to inclement weather. Before the race resumed with green flag conditions on Lap 31, NASCAR announced to all drivers and teams that the race would conclude at 8:20 p.m. CT.

As Christopher Bell led the restart, Kyle Larson, the polesitter, stuffed his car into the Turn 6 wall, bringing out the race’s third caution. With two of the prime contenders eliminated, this left it a wide open affair for the win given the impending time limit for the race.

Even with the race damage, Alex Bowman kept on trucking in Sunday’s Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Course in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Kevin Bowman | The Podium Finish)

Joey Hand, driving the part-time No. 60 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry, found himself in the lead on Lap 44 as various contenders pitted with the thought that time was on their side to make a concerted run toward the front.

As it turned out, those who stayed out, like Hand, Bowman and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., were in the best position to win the race. On Lap 51, Bowman, not wanting to wait until the last moment, took the lead from Hand.

Time may have been on Bowman’s side as the race’s finish was nearing but Tyler Reddick closed the gap with his slick tires. Reddick, who made plentiful ground up on Bowman, slightly brushed the Turn 5 wall with both sides of his car, effectively ending his pursuit.

Bowman bested Reddick to the stripe by 2.863 seconds with the No. 48 car prevailing at last, bringing all the Hendrick Motorsports drivers and teams into this year’s Playoffs.

Following a long overdue burnout in front of Chicago faithful, Bowman praised his crew chief Blake Harris on the brilliant call that ultimately won the race for his No. 48 team.

“Oh gosh, Blake’s call, I never would have thought rain tires in the dry like that would have worked. So, just so proud of this No. 48 Ally Chevy team. I mean I made a big mistake earlier and tore the whole left-front off the car and ruined other people’s day.

“Just unacceptable and a mistake on my end. I have had a lot of screw ups lately and just happy to be here and get another trophy for these guys.”

For the past two years, Bowman and his No. 48 team were subject to intense scrutiny. Could Bowman return to Victory Lane? Would this driver and combination prevail after a long dry spell?

“Yeah, it’s been rough to be a part of this race team,” Bowman said. “We all see the things that get said, whether it’s media people second guessing or the internet second guessing us. I feel like between Blake and I, we have everybody covered at second guessing us.

“So, to win it on a call that was Blake’s call and to be able to go win it on wets, it means a lot. So thankful for this group and to continue to overcome stuff like that. It’s hard to go to work every day when you get talked about like that sometimes. So, I am proud of these guys for overcoming that.”

Pride was a strong feeling for Bowman but Reddick was frustrated with his last lap mistake. His unforced error potentially cost him with a chance to win at a city that held significance for Michael Jordan, one of the team principals for 23XI Racing.

“Yeah, I’m upset. I was catching Alex by a large margin there,” Reddick said. “I don’t know. That puzzles me. I clearly just screwed up. Trying to stay in the dry groove and I had more than enough room of dry groove. Yeah, I cut the wheel a little too hard — just not focused enough, I guess.

“I knew I was going to get to him and the earlier I could get to him the more options I would have, and it was going to get a little bit more slick off line beyond Turn 8. Yeah, just didn’t even give ourselves a shot to race him unfortunately. I hate it. Not what this Jordan Brand Toyota Camry is about and what this team is about. Just got to start capitalizing on these ones.”

Ty Gibbs rounded out the podium finishers as the Joe Gibbs Racing sophomore showcased his quiet but steady road course and street circuit skills. Simply put, the 21-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native had a unique way to describe the circuit’s conditions.

“Yeah, it’s really fun,” Gibbs said. “I feel like it’s kind of like a dirt track, honestly. Pick and choose your lines, see what lane is drying up and is faster. You have to look around, which makes it fun as we don’t get to do that a lot.

“I like that and it takes a lot of racing awareness to do that, and it’s fun to be looking and saying, ‘that line is drying up’ and you hit that line and I just gained two car-lengths on the guy in front of me, so it’s really fun to do that.”

After winning the most recent NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in 2019, Alex Bowman was victorious in Sunday’s Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Course on Sunday, July 7, 2024. (Photo: Kevin Bowman | The Podium Finish)

Before all the partying that happened upon arriving in North Carolina, Bowman was speechless about his first win in two years. Now, the 31-year-old racer does not have to answer those questions about returning to Victory Lane.

“Man, I don’t even know. I really don’t know what to say,” Bowman said. “I am just really proud of this team, and it means a lot to win here and finally get a win at a road course. To do something like this is really special.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Shane van Gisbergen (i)
2. Christopher Bell
3. Ty Gibbs
4. Chase Briscoe
5. Kyle Larson
6. Alex Bowman
7. Bubba Wallace
8. Todd Gilliland
9. Tyler Reddick
10. Daniel Suárez

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Joey Hand
2. Alex Bowman
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Carson Hocevar (R)
5. Martin Truex Jr.
6. Noah Gragson
7. Daniel Hemric
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
9. Harrison Burton
10. Denny Hamlin

Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Course Race Results