Jeff Gordon speaks on Alex Bowman getting back to his 100% after serious injuries in the last two seasons

After Alex Bowman won his first race in over two years, Jeff Gordon was asked whether the old Bowman was back. The #48 driver was considered a weekly contender for wins until he suffered two major injuries in 2022 and 2023.

In 2022, Bowman suffered a concussion and in 2023, he suffered a broken back. Both of those injuries forced him out of multiple races.

But now that he's won the street course race at Chicago, his first since March 2022 at Las Vegas, Gordon was asked if Bowman was back to his 100% and showing his old self.

The 4x Cup champion spoke based on his conversations with Bowman and from his own experience of when he cracked his ribs.

"I think race car drivers come up and they have accidents and sometimes you have injuries. You find out how tough you are, mentally and physically, and how bad you want to do it. Alex has been through a few significant injuries, and he's come back, I feel like, stronger each time. I think it's helped him motivate himself and find out how much he loves what he does. That means that he's got to work really hard to recover. And yet I think through that, of course, you're going to have some setbacks. Just being away from your team, even for a week or two weeks and not being at the track affects drivers these days," Gordon said.

The NASCAR Hall of Famer pointed to Chase Elliott's leg injury, which forced him out of the car for a few races. Gordon shared his view that it wasn't just the physical aspect of the drivers' health not allowing them to be in the car that's important, because, as he put it it, "winning is tough."

"It's hard to get the whole team all together at the perfect time. It's very difficult (to win). So you add then an injury, or some significant injuries that Alex has had to deal with, and yeah, it's going to set you back," he added.

Jeff Gordon said that it would take a driver some time to get back to his 100%, not just physically, but with his team.

Alex Bowman revealed Hendrick Motorsports never considered letting him go

Speaking after his race win, Alex Bowman revealed that his team never considered the idea of breaking their contract with him. Over the last two seasons, Bowman not only failed to win a race, but had to see his teammates performing better than him.

Kyle Larosn and William Byron made it to the final 4 in 2023, while Chase Elliott made it there in 2022.

But despite him not getting wins, or good results for a long stretch, Hendrick Motorsports never questioned their contract with Alex Bowman.

"Certainly I have a contract through the end of 2026 and that hasn't been questioned as much as Twitter would like to believe it has. At the same time, it's more about, for me, overcoming everything that has happened in my life for the last two years. It's been really difficult," Bowman said during a post-race press conference. [2:20]

So with that said, it'll be interesting to see how Alex Bowman fares in the remaining races of the regular season.

With his win at Chicago, he joined his other three teammates in the playoffs.