“Just as surprised as anyone": Alex Bowman's teammate makes his feelings known about former’s Charlotte DQ setback

Following Alex Bowman’s disqualification, Chase Elliott shared his thoughts on NASCAR’s decision to penalize his teammate. Elliott told the media at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway that he was just as surprised as anyone upon hearing the news.

Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott have been teammates at Hendrick Motorsports since 2018. The two drivers qualified for the upcoming Round of 8 until NASCAR took away Bowman’s points at Charlotte. His No. 48 car failed to meet minimum weight requirements post-race, hence the penalty that sent him out of playoff contention.

When asked about his initial reaction to the disqualification, Chase Elliott said (via Dalton Hopkins of Frontstretch):

“Just as surprised as anyone, and disappointed and bummed for Alex and also for Blake [No. 48 crew chief] and their whole team because, in my opinion, I think they’ve done a really nice job over the last couple of months, in particular, and really earned their into having a shot at the championship, in my view.”

While the 28-year-old HMS driver believes the car didn’t give Alex Bowman a significant advantage on the track, he also understands no team can bend the rules.

“While we all know that couple pounds or whatever it was is likely not a difference maker in what happened during the race, still a rule that is black and white. It is not something that you can really do about.”

Chase Elliott continued by making his feelings known about the disqualification, saying:

“It sucks. At the end of the day, it wasn’t anything of Alex, wasn’t his doing, you know. So just disappointed, bummed for him. Hope he can just keep his head up and continue to perform and do the things they’ve been doing.” [0:55]

With Alex Bowman’s disqualification, Joey Logano got back into playoff contention because he was the closest to the cutline after the Charlotte road course race.

The eight-time Cup winner’s best finish in this year’s postseason was at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a P5. It was followed by a P6 finish at Kansas Speedway and a P9 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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Alex Bowman’s phone called 911 after he found out about his disqualification

While fans were disappointed about Alex Bowman’s disqualification, the driver himself was furious. Per NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck, Bowman threw his phone in a pool after finding out about the penalty, which prompted the mobile device to call 911 thinking the driver got into an accident.

In an X (formerly Twitter), Gluck wrote:

“Alex Bowman learned the DQ news from Twitter and then he threw his phone in the pool bc he knew it was about to blow up with texts. When it hit the bottom of the pool, his phone called 911 because it thought he had been in a car crash. (Fortunately, the cops didn’t show up because there was no service under the water, he said.). His phone still works (iPhones are waterproof.).”

Alex Bowman may be out of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers (Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Chase Elliott) are still in contention. However, only Chase Elliott enters the Round of 8 below the cutline along with Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano.

The next race is scheduled at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Round of 8 opener.