“Clean air’s key”: HMS driver Alex Bowman discusses his solid P3 finish at Pocono

Alex Bowman has been on a roll lately. A week on from his victory in the Chicago Street Race, the NASCAR #48 driver finished on the podium at the Pocono Raceway.

On the back of two winless seasons in 2022 and 2023, Bowman began the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series championship with a positive mindset. With twelve Top 10 and Top 5 finishes, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has been able to make his mark this year, and finds himself in tenth place in the drivers' charts. The Arizona-based racer also ended his 80-race winless streak at the Chicago Street Course earlier this month.

With the added confidence from his Grant Park 165 win, Bowman showcased his racecraft to finish third at The Great American Getaway 400. Elated with the podium finish, the 31-year-old driver opened up about the crucial element of the race with senior journalist Bob Pockrass.

Pockrass questioned Bowman on whether he had anything left in the car to challenge runner-up Denny Hamlin or race winner Ryan Blaney in the closing stages.

"No, yeah I mean maybe for like a lap and a half I felt pretty good about my stuff behind Ryan and then I just kind of burnt the right rear tire off," Bowman replied (0:12 onwards).

Here's a look at the X post by Bob Pockrass, captioned:

"Alex Bowman finished third at Pocono a week after his win at Chicago. What he said about backing up the win with another strong run and whether he had anything for Ryan Blaney."

"It's part of racing, clean air is key and I knew if I got him on a restart I would have a shot at it but unfortunately just wasn't able to make that happen and then kind of burnt my stuff up after that." Alex Bowman said, further explaining his last stint (0:18 onwards).

The recent rise in form has made Bowman a strong contender for the NASCAR playoffs this year.

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"He raced me super clean on the restart" - Alex Bowman praises Denny Hamlin for racing fair at Pocono Raceway

A lap 133 caution for fluids on the track (Ty Gibbs mechanical failure) clubbed the group together for the last time at The Great American Getaway 400.

This provided an opportunity for both Alex Bowman (then second) and Denny Hamlin (third) to try and clinch the win from Ryan Blaney. When the track cleared, the race restarted on lap 138. Although Bowman challenged Blaney for close to seven laps, the hard-fought battle saw the #48 driver's tires degrade rapidly.

This put him in the clutches of the fast-advancing Hamlin. After defending for close to nine laps, Hamlin was able to pass Bowman on lap 153 to take second place in the race.

“So just tried to make a smart call there and obviously hate to lose positions, but, you know, he raced me super clean on the restart and just tried to give him that respect back.” Bowman said during the post-race interaction.