NASCAR
Alex Bowman Ends Dry Spell on Damp Chicago Street Course
CHICAGO, Ill. – A day defined by favorites wrecking out and rain racing saw a unique and unprecedented finish for the ages. Riding an 80 race winless streak, Alex Bowman willed his way back to the winner’s circle on the Chicago Street Course. A first career road course win for the Hendrick driver comes in perfect time, sealing up his Playoff fate. Following an injury-plagued two years since his last victory, Bowman promised a big celebration after this Windy City win.
Ty Gibbs initially took off from the front row, but Stage 1 eventually went to Shane van Gisbergen. The No. 16 took command navigating through lapped traffic and won the opening Stage under yellow.
The prerace favorite’s day would come to an early end, however. SVG’s car found the outside barrier in turn six after contact from Chase Briscoe, causing terminal damage to the Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.
Not long after the race resumed following a nearly two-hour rain delay, another favorite’s day came to a crashing end. Chasing down Gibbs from third, Kyle Larson overcooked entry into turn six and nosed hard into the tire barrier. Larson and SVG were two of the heavyweight favorites, and were the first two DNFs.
Christopher Bell led under the rain delay, but had to short pit Stage 2 from the lead. This handed a first career Stage win to RFK Racing’s part timer Joey Hand.
On the Stage 3 restart, Alex Bowman worked over and eventually passed Hand in turn five. Despite one more restart, nobody could wrestle the lead away from the Ally No. 48. Tyler Reddick had a tire advantage and was closing in on the last lap, but to no avail. Alex Bowman takes his eighth career Cup victory and first in 80 races, dating back to March 2022.
“Anytime you go to the racetrack with Hendrick Motorsports you got a shot,” Bowman said. “First off, I have to apologize again to the No. 23 guys. Just messed up trying to get my windshield wiper on, missed a corner and ruined their day. I hate that, still embarrassed about it, but we have a trophy to take home. I know it means a lot to this team. They put me in position to win the race.”
“Man I broke my back, had a brain injury, and we’ve kind of sucked ever since. You start to second guess if you’re ever going to get a chance to win a race again. The last one we won, we didn’t really get to celebrate. We’re going to drink so much damn bourbon tonight. It’s going to be a bad deal. I’m probably going to wake up naked on the bathroom floor again. Man that’s just part of this deal sometimes.”
“Just thanks to Ally and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, everyone who makes this deal go around. Mr H., Jeff, shoutout to Chloe at home. She’s at home with the pups, it’s like the only race she’s missed all year. I’m sure she’s pissed off at me for that one, but she’s at home with Huck, and excited to get there. It’ll be a good night.”
Finishing behind Bowman and Reddick were Ty Gibbs, Joey Hand, and Michael McDowell. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Todd Gilliland, William Byron, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-10.
Bowman’s triumph marks a perfect Playoff representation from Hendrick Motorsports once again. HMS had not put all four cars into the postseason since 2022. Bowman is the 12th different winner through 20 races of 2024, see the rest of the Playoff standings below.
The Cup Series rolls onward next week from Pocono Raceway. The Great American Getaway 400 goes green Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The Cup Series has seen new winners over the last two weeks. Will there be a third on The Tricky Triangle?
Written by Peter Stratta
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