Alex Bowman forced out of Bristol Cup race after grabbing pole position

NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 - Qualifying - Source: Getty — Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, looks on - Source: Getty

Alex Bowman's outing on Sunday came to a premature halt after the Hendrick Motorsports driver faced an engine blowup during the Food City 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowman started the race from pole but could only last 358 laps as he crept towards the pit road after the technical issue jeopardized his race.

After a brilliant qualifying lap on Saturday, Bowman set himself on the pole with 14.912 on the timesheet and 128.675 as his best speed. He took the pole ahead of HYAK Motorsports driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Even though the #48 driver started from pole, he lost the lead of the race to his teammate Kyle Larson, who went on to win the no-caution 125-lap Stage 1. Larson continued his dominance in Stage 2, as Bowman finished second.

However, Bowman's day was done in the third stage as the HMS driver suffered from an engine blow-up during the race. In Lap 358 of 500, Bowman took to his team radio and shared,

"Blowing up."

Here's the video of Alex Bowman slowing down on track after the engine issue:

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At the time of publishing this article, Larson has kept his lead in the race. He is followed by Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Briscoe, with 45 laps to go.

Alex Bowman dedicated his pole to Jon Edwards of Hendrick Motorsports

Following his pole at the Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, Alex Bowman dedicated it to Jon Edwards, a Hendrick Motorsports member who passed away earlier this week. Edwards was the director of racing communications at Hendrick Motorsports.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman (48) during qualifying for the NASCAR Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

"It feels really good," Bowman said as per Hendrickmotorsports.com. "Definitely want to dedicate this to Jon Edwards. Huge loss for everybody at (Hendrick Motorsports) and for his family and everybody close to him. He was probably my favorite person at (Hendrick Motorsports), one of the good guys for sure. Definitely going to be missed a lot. Just proud of our Ally 48 team."

Bowman hasn't won a race this season, whereas his teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron, have already won one race each and qualified for the 2025 NASCAR playoffs.

About the author

Sabyasachi Biswas is a passionate motorsport journalist for Sportskeeda, with a Master's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. He has over eight years of experience in the field and has over 10000 published articles on the internet.

As a dedicated follower of motorsport, Sabyasachi watches events closely, ensuring his reports are thorough and supported by reputable sources. He is inspired by Max Verstappen’s fearless attitude and dreams of attending the Indian GP if it returns to the calendar. An ardent F1 fan over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel and is now following Verstappen's dominant journey on the track.

Apart from F1, he is a big-time NASCAR and football (also soccer) fan. Sabyasachi supports Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports and Spanish club, Real Madrid.

He was a sub-junior level footballer and won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak by nature, Sabyasachi likes to try different cuisines and learn about new cultures. When away from his keyboard, he enjoys soccer, geopolitics, and playing with Khushi & Ubbu - his adorable beagles.

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Edited by Rupesh