'I hate that we gave them that opportunity' — Alex Bowman reflects on his 2024 playoff exit after Joey Logano’s third championship run 

Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman recently looked back on his 2024 playoff run after he was disqualified from the Round of 12 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 31-year-old made the Round of 8 on points but faced an unfortunate setback, leading to Joey Logano taking the eight spot in his stead for the next playoff round.

The eight-time NASCAR Cup race winner Bowman impressed with a decent regular season run and booked his playoff berth with a win at the 2024 Chicago Street race in July. However, after wheeling in his No. 48 Chevrolet based on points for the final Round of 12 race, the Tucson, Arizona native was eliminated from the playoff run for not matching the minimum weight required in the post-race inspection.

In a conversation with the Associated Press, Bowman reflected on his 2024 playoff rounds and said:

"It wasn’t anything that I had any control over,” Bowman said. “There was nothing anybody could do about it. There’s no way to change it. All we really could do was move on and keep digging. It would have been nice to not have that happen, obviously."

Not to anyone's surprise, Bowman also became the catalyst for Team Penske driver Logano as the latter lifted his third NASCAR Cup Series championship title.

"From different perspectives, it probably makes it worse," Bowman said. "I hate that we gave them that opportunity, but we did, and they obviously capitalized on it and did what they needed to do."

"Props to them for being able to shake off what they had going on and go win a championship that way. That was a big achievement for them," the Hendrick Motorsports driver added.

Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium - Practice - Source: Getty

On the heels of starting his eighth full-time season with Rick Hendrick-owned organization, Alex Bowman also shared his thoughts on the priority list for the upcoming Daytona 500 race.

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"I would take the win over the pole": Alex Bowman sets his sights on the first race of the 2025 NASCAR season

In the interview with AP, Alex Bowman shared his honest feelings on the importance of the season-opening race expectations at the Daytona International Speedway. Notably, Bowman has an impressive record at the grid of the Daytona 500, starting four times on the front row from 2020 to 2023, including two poles.

"Qualifying means a lot to Mr. Hendrick and everybody in the engine shop and the chassis shop, everybody that puts the cars together," Bowman said. "It’s kind of their time to shine,” Bowman said. “But winning the 500 means a little bit more than that. I would take the win over the pole."

Notably, Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Chevy team will return to action on February 16 for the 'Great American Race' at Daytona Beach, Florida.