Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman was recently featured in an interview with FrontStretch Media ahead of the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway this weekend. During the interaction, Bowman revealed the team has been following his teammate, Kyle Larson's, months-old test for the upcoming race.Earlier this season, the #5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver had a test at Gateway that helped the team create a different strategy for the short-track program. The team gained valuable insights from the test, and Larson claimed that the strategy has been improved by applying the insights. According to Larson, the program will help the HMS drivers get a confidence boost at Phoenix Raceway as well.Following that, Alex Bowman claimed the team has high hopes from the test to help them perform well at Gateway and wipe the slate clean. Bowman told the press (via FrontStretchMedia on X):"Obviously, we all have leaned on the test quite a bit; uhm, hopefully it works out and benefits us as a whole. It's been a weak racetrack for us as a group, so yeah, we're banking a lot on that to see us in the right direction." [02:30]Kyle Larson has completed three races at Gateway and has struggled at the track during the qualifying session. Additionally, he finished in P10 in the race held on June 2, 2024. Meanwhile, his teammates William Byron, Alex Bowman, and Chase Elliott finished in P15, P28, and P13, respectively. The HMS drivers will look to change history and have a stronger finish at Iowa this time around.“They’re incredibly fast”: Alex Bowman got candid about HMS' inferiority against Team PenskeEarlier this month, NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman sat down with stock car racing analyst Bob Pockrass and opened up about Team Penske cars having an edge during the Phoenix race.During the 2024 Championship Four race at Phoenix, Team Penske dominated the race. Joey Logano qualified in P2, 0.01 seconds behind pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. Meanwhile, HMS driver Kyle Larson was in P4, Chase Elliott in P5, William Byron in P8, and Alex Bowman in P16. The team struggled not only in the qualifying session but also in the main event.Team Penske dominated both stages of the race; meanwhile, William Byron was the only HMS driver in the top five drivers. Ultimately, Joey Logano won his third Cup Series title, and his Penske teammate Ryan Blaney finished as the runner-up. Reflecting on Ford's dominance in the race, Alex Bowman told Bob Pockrass (via Fox Sports):"We've really struggled there [at Phoenix], but at the same time, we — to be blunt — just have a lot of work to do there, to catch the Penske cars. They're incredibly fast there.""We have been getting to work, trying to improve that stuff. So a lot of smart people back at HMS working on it," Bowman added.Alex Bowman currently ranks 15th in the Cup Series points table with 2008 points to his name. He has secured 14 top-ten finishes, six top-five finishes, and two pole positions in 27 starts this season. However, he has yet to secure a win in 2025.