Is Alex Bowman on the hot seat? I thought that conversation was over after the driver of the #48 car for Hendrick Motorsports won the Chicago street race back in July and locked himself into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Though they've generally been behind Hendrick teammates Kyle Larson, William Byron and Chase Elliott, it's not like Bowman and his team have been THAT bad this season. They have one win and six top 5 finishes through 26 races so far this season - though Bowman has only led 14 laps so far in 2024. Still, it's not like there are any must-have drivers left on the market. And Bowman has a contract with Hendrick through 2026, along with sponsor Ally (who are reportedly big fans of Bowman) being locked in through 2028, so it would seem a little surprising if they decided to make a move. But that hasn't stopped the rumors from swirling about Bowman's future with the team. The talk really seemed to heat up yesterday after spotters Freddie Kraft and Brett Griffin alluded to them on their popular podcast Door Bumper Clear, with Griffin saying that Bowman "may be out of more than just the playoffs" if he doesn't advance past the first round. Kraft then added that there was a reason that the driver of an open ride for next season hasn't been announced yet, clearly referring to the driver of the #7 car for Spire Motorsports, which is now open after it was announced that Corey LaJoie wouldn't be returning next year. https://twitter.com/BrakeHardBlog/status/1831124332539445698 The rumor, obviously, is that Spire is waiting to see if Bowman gets let go from HMS, and will hire him for the #7 car if he's available. And during NASCAR playoff media day today, the driver of the #48 car was asked about the speculation that he was on the hot seat - and firmly denied any concerns about his job security:
"That rumor has certainly been annoying. Definitely. Obviously my contract's through the end of '26, and all I can tell you is what my bosses have told me, and that's there's no plans to change anything. Rumors are just rumors." Bowman says he hopes that Spire makes the announcement about the #7 car sooner rather than later so that the speculation surrounding his future will settle down, but that he's confident he'll be back in the #48 car in 2025:
"That's a rumor that I've heard for a month, right? And it got to the point where I picked up the phone and called everybody, and everybody said 'Absolutely not.' So that's really all I have to go on, and I don't have a reason to believe anything other than that." Of course Bowman acknowledges that his team needs to be running better, especially as they get into the playoffs. But at this point, it doesn't sound like he's too concerned about his future job with his team. https://twitter.com/AlanCavanna/status/1831371478329332183
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