Alex Bowman explains the harsh consequences of his incident with Denny Hamlin

Alex Bowman had a tough day at Kansas Speedway. Although he finished fifth in the AdventHealth 400, the race didn’t go as planned. A three-wide battle with Denny Hamlin and Zane Smith caused damage to his car early on. After that, everything got harder for Bowman and his team.

The incident happened while Bowman was climbing up the field. He had started 21st and moved up to 10th within just four laps. On Lap 95, while fighting for position, Bowman got squeezed by Hamlin and Smith, and his car hit the outside wall. Bowman said the current cars don’t behave the same as the old ones during side-by-side racing. He explained,

"Yeah, we were really fast until we got damaged and then just got really loose in and really tight in the center. Uh kind of did everything quite a bit worse after we got the wall. So, um yeah, it just sucks that uh we didn't capitalize on how good it was." [0:30 onwards]

“That’s the unfortunate part of racing these cars,” Bowman said. “Where the old cars get loose side by side, these cars get tight, guys just take off and the outside guy ends up in the fence,” he added. [1:17 onwards]

The contact with the wall damaged Alex Bowman’s steering. He said the hit knocked the toe out so badly that his steering wheel was off-center.

“I thought I was gonna drive down into turn 3 and smoke the fence,” Bowman said. (via Frontstretch)

Even with the damage, Bowman kept the car in the top 10 for most of the race. He had more issues dealing with lapped cars later in the race. He said drivers who were three laps down were still blocking hard and making life difficult. Rookie Riley Herbst was one of them, trying to help his teammate by racing Bowman and Brad Keselowski aggressively.

Still, Alex Bowman pushed through. He was running as high as third in the closing laps before finishing fifth. This was his second top-five of the season and his seventh top-10. He’s been either up front or far off this season, as he has no finishes between 11th and 25th in the first 12 races.

As reported by Frontstretch, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chad Knaus praised the team after the race. He said the way they came back from early damage showed their strength.

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Alex Bowman calls out Hamlin after contact

On Lap 95, Alex Bowman was caught in a tight three-wide battle with Denny Hamlin and Zane Smith. Bowman was on the outside, with little room. The cars got close, and Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet hit the wall. That contact affected his car’s handling for the rest of the race.

Hamlin waved at Alex Bowman after passing him. That upset Bowman, who thought the move was unnecessary. His radio message made it clear he was angry. According to Jeff Gluck, Bowman said,

“Tell him to put his hand back in the window and don’t drive me in the f***ing fence next time.”

Alex Bowman still managed to finish fifth. He is currently 8th in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series driver standings with 325 points. Through 12 races, he has 7 top-10s, 2 top-5s, and 2 poles, but he’s still looking for his first win of the season.