“Maybe we can talk about something else”: Alex Bowman waves off speculation over his HMS future

Alex Bowman brushed off a question about his full-time ride at Hendrick Motorsports. In an interview at Martinsville Speedway, Bowman asked the media to "talk about something else" following a late mistake in last week's Homestead-Miami race.

During the Straight Talk Wireless 400, Alex Bowman, who was in first place, hit the wall on his own while defending Kyle Larson, allowing his teammate to take the lead on lap 261. He eventually finished second after starting from the pole position.

Nevertheless, HMS Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon reaffirmed Bowman's place in the team, saying the 31-year-old driver is "our guy."

When asked about his future and Gordon's comments, the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro pilot said (via NASCAR Insider Peter Stratta on X):

"You guys need something to talk about, I guess, so we're just going to continue bringing up that stuff all the time. That's part of me being here, I guess."

He then asked the media to change the topic, saying:

"But yeah, definitely appreciate his support, and my contract doesn't end [until] 2026 so maybe we can talk about something else."

The lap 261 blunder at Homestead-Miami Speedway may be costly, but the driver remained optimistic, pointing out his strong start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

"We're third on points, doing all the right things, so hopefully we can just continue that. We're doing the right things at the moment [...] Just a long way to go, like obviously that one slip away last week wasn't great, but I think we're in a good spot," he concluded.

As mentioned, Alex Bowman is third in the standings behind teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson. He has also overtaken Chase Elliott, who dropped to sixth place after the Miami race.

Bowman turns his attention to the Martinsville Speedway race on Sunday. He is set to start in the second row (third position) alongside Kyle Larson. Christopher Bell secured the pole position for the first short track action of the year.

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Alex Bowman congratulates Kyle Larson after battling for the win at Homestead-Miami

While Alex Bowman lost the win and playoff berth to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the No. 48 driver showed good sportsmanship. He complimented Larson before congratulating him for taking the checkered flag.

In an X (formerly Twitter) post, the Arizona native wrote:

"Dangit. Pressure from the baddest dude on earth and I made a mistake and gave it to him. Congrats @KyleLarsonRacin [Kyle Larson]."

"We’ll re rack and go after it again next week 👊🏼," he added.

Alex Bowman was beaten to the line by 1.205 seconds after leading the field for 43 laps around the 1.5-mile track. The HMS duo was trailed by Toyota drivers, including Bubba Wallace in third, Chase Briscoe in fourth, and Denny Hamlin in fifth.

Completing the top 10 finishing list were Chris Buescher, A.J. Allmendinger, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece, and Justin Haley.

Alex Bowman driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro at Homestead-Miami Speedway - Source: Imagn

Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott finished in 12th and 18th, respectively, breaking the team's two-week streak of all four drivers finishing within the top 10.