INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Alex Bowman considered walking away from NASCAR after this season. A series of discouraging results convinced him to give racing one more shot. One day after the 33-year-old Arizona native announced he’ll retire after the 2027 season, Bowman arrived at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first Brickyard 400 practice and explained why he decided to embark on one final farewell tour with Hendrick Motorsports.
“I think I really want to end on a more positive note than kind of how this year’s been,” he said Friday. “I’ve had my fair share (of concussions), but this really isn’t a physical thing. I think if I would have had no injuries over the last 10 years, this time frame would still be this time frame.
This is kind what I wanted.” Bowman has spent the past 10 years driving for one of NASCAR’s top teams, first in the No. He enters this weekend with eight career wins, 114 top 10 finishes and seven pole wins in 371 career Cup starts. In recent years, though, he battled health issues.
Bowman missed four races this season because of vertigo and, in addition to the concussions, also suffered a back injury in a 2023 sprint car race. He then re-injured his back in a big crash at Michigan in 2025. Somehow, though, Bowman managed to make seven playoff appearances in the previous eight seasons.
This year, he’s 29th in points — well below the 16-driver postseason cutline. “It has been a journey for sure, and it hasn’t gone the way I had hoped, I guess, in some ways,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun even though the stat sheet might read what I want it to read.
It’s still been great in a lot of ways.” Bowman’s impending departure means Hendrick will have a rare full-time opening in 2028. But finding a successor for Bowman’s seat was not a priority on Friday’s agenda. Instead, teammates and team officials offered their support to Bowman about his decision and the 53 races remaining on his schedule.
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