$200M-worth Jeff Gordon lauds HMS' #48 team after Alex Bowman's dominant Chicago Cup win

NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon shared his thoughts on Hendrick Motorsports' performance at the Grant Park 165 in Chicago. The former NASCAR Cup Series champion is the Vice President of Hendrick Motorsports.

HMS' #48 driver Alex Bowman navigated through intense weather conditions and secured the top spot at the Chicago Street Race, claiming his first win of the season and securing a seat in the 2024 playoffs. The $200M-worth Gordon (according to Celebrity Net Worth) commended the #48 team for their incredible performance on Sunday and wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"So proud of this team and their climb back to victory lane! Hard work paying off."

Hendrick Motorsports holds the record as the most decorated Cup Series team in NASCAR history, winning 14 championships. Gordon secured four of these titles as a driver for HMS in the late 90's.

In a post-race interview after the Grant Park 165, Gordon was asked to shed light on the impact this victory brings to the confidence of HMS as a team. He responded (via Bob Pockrass):

"It's really hard to get the team where they need to be, to compete at the highest level on a regular basis, make the playoffs, then compete at a higher level in the playoffs without victories coming, to just remind everybody that we're doing the right things."

"I think today was a huge day for both of these guys (Bowman and Crew chief Blake Harris) and the whole team, and I couldn't be more prouder, or happy for the whole group because I know what kind of pressure they've been feeling," he added.

With Alex Bowman's win at the second edition of the Chicago Street Race, all four drivers racing for Hendrick Motorsports have paved their way into the 2024 playoffs. Ahead of the Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway, Bowman is positioned in 11th, William Byron sits in 6th, and the frontrunners Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott hold the top two spots in the driver standings.

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Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace clash in Chicago

After the end of the Grant Park 165, Bubba Wallace was witnessed door-slamming into the right side of winner Alex Bowman's #48 Camaro ZL1 during a cooldown lap. This incident was reportedly in retaliation for them making contact earlier in the race.

On the restart in the 25th lap, the field worked its way down into turn 2, with Wallace on the outside line. As the rain came pouring down, Bowman tried to wipe his windshield clean to get a clear view and missed the turn, making contact with Wallace. This contact sent Wallace's #23 Toyota right into the wall, hampering his chances to put in a winning performance.

In a post-race interview, Bowman admitted to his mistake and apologized to Wallace for the incident. Moreover, he advocated that NASCAR should not penalize Wallace for door-slamming him in Chicago.