"It was super emotional" - Alex Bowman candidly reveals significance of Chicago win following difficult injury-laden phase

Alex Bowman recently opened up on the significance of his NASCAR Cup Series win at the Chicago Street Course in 2024. The Hendrick Motorsports driver won his race in July 2024, which turned out to be his first win since 2022 Las Vegas.

During the time between his Vegas and Chicago wins, Alex Bowman suffered two major injuries. The first was a concussion injury in 2022, which forced him to miss five races. The second injury he suffered in a Sprint car race in April 2023 forced him out of three races with a broken back.

His Chicago win was something Bowman recently discussed with Kevin Harvick in an episode of the Happy Hour podcast. The Hendrick Motorsports driver said:

"There's a lot of pressure that comes along with that internally and externally. I've put a lot of pressure on myself. I am way harder on myself than Mr. Hendrick or Jeff Gordon or anybody else that's ever going to be, I expect more from myself than what anybody else is going to expect. So when I'm not winning races and we're not performing like we need to, I feel it just from my side of things. But just to overcome the injuries, the lack of performance and all the different things that came into one, winning there in Chicago, it was super emotional." [4:00]

Bowman claimed he didn't know what to do or say after his win in Chicago. He admitted that as a racecar driver, one never wants to second-guess himself. But when he went a year without winning and because of his two injuries, Alex Bowman said he wondered if his brain injury or him breaking his back changed him 'forever' as a racecar driver.

This is why he emphasized winning in Chicago and overcoming all of that 'meant a lot.'

Alex Bowman admitted feeling annoyed by rumors regarding his HMS future in 2024

During the 2024 season, a rumor began circulating in the NASCAR garage regarding Alex Bowman's future at HMS. The rumor suggested that Bowman's days as the #48 driver were numbered.

But even though it didn't turn out to be the case, as the HMS leadership expressed their faith in their driver, Alex Bowman was left annoyed by it. He said:

"That rumor has certainly been annoying, definitely. Obviously my contracts through the end of '26 and all I can tell you is like what my bosses have told me and that's, there's no plans to change anything. Rumors are just rumors, so hopefully they'll get their announcements done, so my rumors stop."

Bowman claimed that he trusted the leadership at Hendrick Motorsports and what they told him. He said that in every conversation he'd had with his bosses, the rumors were simply rumors with nothing suggesting any plans from HMS's side.