NASCAR star Alex Bowman fires back after Chili Bowl accusations, defends fellow drivers Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman took up for himself and fellow Cup Series drivers Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. following an accusation from a fan via social media. The X user accused the officiating during this year's Chili Bowl Nationals of being biased towards NASCAR drivers.

In an X thread that started with a user expressing how it was a "plus" that the Chili Bowl Nationals got those within the NASCAR community's attention, a user with the handle @HereWeKangz made their thoughts known on the NASCAR drivers who competed, writing:

"Probably why any driver or team with Nascar name got special treatment and biased officiating"

The user then wrote in another X post that Stenhouse got away with using his car as a "weapon," Larson skated by without a blend rule penalty following a crash, and accused Bowman of "tire prepping." They added:

"Stenhouse uses car as a weapon, no penalty. Day "passes before the cone", no penalty. Larson half crashes and brings yellow out, no blend rule. ABR caught tire prepping, warning and swept under rug and no public acknowledgement. The list goes on. But hey just a coincidence"

This sparked Bowman's attention as he decided to respond to the user, accusing them of being a "fake account" and posted photos proving that he didn't do any illegal tire prepping.

"Typically don’t respond to fake accounts but I take this pretty personal considering I mounted, sized, grooved, and ground all 44 tires we brought to Tulsa. You should probably come up with better rumors since Chilibowl posts the receipts….," Alex Bowman wrote.

While Bowman, Larson, and Stenhouse all competed in this year's event, it was Larson taking home the checkered flag. It was Larson's third career Chili Bowl win, becoming one of only four drivers to win the prestigious race at least three times. Cup Series star Christopher Bell, meanwhile, placed 10th in the event.

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Alex Bowman entering eighth season with Hendrick Motorsports in 2025

Alex Bowman has been a staple at Hendrick Motorsports since taking over for the retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr. ahead of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season. The Arizona native enters his eighth season at HMS as he'll be back behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet in 2025.

Last season, Bowman snapped an 80-race winless streak by winning on the Chicago street course. The win qualified the eight-time Cup Series winner for the playoffs after failing to make the cut in 2023. Bowman had a strong playoff showing and appeared to be heading to the Round of 8, but a disqualification in the final race of the Round of 12 put him below the cutoff and out of the playoffs.

Alex Bowman won a career-high four races in 2021. His best points finish was sixth back in 2020.