Alex Bowman continued his consistent ways in Sunday’s race at Richmond. (Photo: Mitch Richtmyre | The Podium Finish)
RICHMOND, Va. – Alex Bowman may be, unknowingly, embracing his new, highly regarded reputation with being NASCAR’s “Mr. Consistency.”
Although today’s stock car scene is about winning, flashy top fives and top 10s, sometimes, a bit of old school, cool, unassuming racing still counts for something. That something is the NASCAR Cup Series points lead.
Ahead of Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, Bowman has been compiling an intriguing season with three top fives and five top 10 results through the first six races of the year. Thanks to a remarkable average finish of 7.0 after the season’s opening six events, the 29-year-old native of Tucson held the points lead at the 0.75-mile track.
Starting from the pole, Bowman’s consistent form was on vivid display in his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro. Namely, the ninth-year Cup racer led for eight laps and logged seventh place results in Stages 1 and 2.
While Bowman lacked the pace and gusto seen with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Kyle Larson and William Byron, he channeled his best Terry Labonte approach by extracting the most out of his car without forcing the issue.
Impressively, Bowman maintained an average race position of sixth, ran inside the top 15 for 99.8% of the race and earned a Driver Rating of 106.5.
Bowman has not missed a beat after seven races into the 2023 season. (Photo: Mitchell Richtmyre | The Podium Finish)
Despite placing eighth in the race’s official results, he maintained his slender lead of four markers over Ross Chastain. Like his Hendrick peers, Bowman’s performance and results have not dropped much despite his regular crew chief, Blake Harris, serving a four-race suspension following the penalties doled out after the Phoenix spring race.
Working with interim and former crew chief, Greg Ives, the Arizonan remains cool, confident and poised. If anything, Bowman seems to be more mature, collected and in command of his ride, dangerous but necessary intangibles with being a frontrunning Cup contender.
Prior to Sunday’s race, Bowman offered his thoughts on his team’s incredible form.
“We’ve maximized our bad days,” Bowman said. “We struggled a little bit at Phoenix but still ended up in the top-10. At Atlanta, if the last lap goes a little different then we finish in the top-10 there, too.
“I feel like just maximizing our bad days and maximizing each little part and piece of everything throughout the races. This is a small sample size. It feels good to be leading points and to have this season that we’re having so far.”
Naturally, a victory would be like the seasoning needed to make for a memorable meal with family and friends. All told, leading the Cup points is a testament to the dedication and focus put forth by Bowman, Harris, Ives and the entire No. 48 team at the track and shop.
With Richmond in the books for Bowman and company, the focus turns to the Food City Dirt Race (7 p.m. ET on FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Perhaps Mr. Consistency can add another title of stock car’s favorite forecaster.
With Richmond in the books, Bowman hopes it is not too muddy at Bristol next Sunday night. (Photo: Mitchell Richtmyre | The Podium Finish)
“I unfortunately looked at the weather (for Bristol) today, and I’m a little nervous. Hopefully that changes,” Bowman said. “I think it’s a bit different. It’s somewhat fun depending on how the racetrack is and how the race goes for you. I love short-track racing. I like this stretch.
“It’s some good tracks for us. Hopefully racing the sprint car a little more helps me at Bristol even though they couldn’t be more different. At least I’ll have some dirt laps. I don’t know… we’ll see how it goes.”
Editor’s Notes
Nathan Solomon contributed to this article directly on-site from Richmond Raceway.
