“We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow”: Alex Bowman summarises poor qualifying session at Bristol as elimination looms large for HMS star

Alex Bowman expressed frustration with his qualifying performance at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Arizona native thought his outing was “not good” before looking forward to the elimination race on Saturday.

Driving the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Bowman qualified 15th on Friday and will start one spot behind Tyler Reddick. He is 35 points below the cutline in 15th place, making the upcoming race critical for his playoff hopes.

In an X post, the Arizona native reflected on his underwhelming qualifying effort. He told NASCAR reporter Wendy Venturini (via PRN):

“Definitely not good, that will be about 18th. Certainly frustrated [...] I just didn't hit 3 & 4 very good that first lap and kind of ruined both laps. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

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Alex Bowman: "Definitely not good, that will be about 18th. Certainly frustrated," he tells @WendyVenturini. "I just didn't hit 3 & 4 very good that first lap and kind of ruined both laps. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

While Alex Bowman had a tough qualifying session, Kaulig Racing driver AJ Allmendinger had a breakthrough by securing his first pole session since 2015. Ryan Blaney was the second fastest driver in the session, followed by Austin Cindric and Ty Gibbs, respectively.

Meanwhile, HMS teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron qualified within the top 10 in 5th and 7th, respectively. Chase Elliott, who is 28 points above the cutline, is starting next to Bowman in 16th.

The Bristol night race is set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. For Bowman, the stakes are clear—he needs a win or a major misfortune for other playoff contenders to advance. Also in the elimination zone are Austin Dillon (-11), Shane van Gisbergen (-15), and Josh Berry (-45).

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“There are tough conversations”: Hendrick Motorsports executive on Alex Bowman's revised pit crew for Bristol

Due to poor pit stops that set Alex Bowman back in the first two races of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Hendrick Motorsports responded by changing the #48 pit crew for the elimination race at Bristol. Team vice president of competition Chad Knaus said there were tough conversations before collectively coming up with the decision.

Knaus told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

“After what's happened the last couple of weeks. We've sat back. We had some tough decisions Sunday night. There are tough conversations Sunday night, and then Monday morning, we got together, put our heads together with the pit staff. Evan... Jacob, and Blake, and I, and you know Mr. Andrews, Gordon, and Mr. Hendrick, all have a part in some role.” [0:37]

“And we just decided we need to go into Bristol with a little bit of fresh. And that's what we need to do, so we made the call.”

Alex Bowman drives the #48 Chevrolet Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports - Source: Imagn

Bowman endured a 40-second stop at Darlington and another 23.9-second delay at World Wide Technology Raceway. Both incidents ultimately left him in a vulnerable spot heading into Bristol.

His crew this Saturday includes front tire changer Daniel Bach, rear tire changer Rod Cox, tire carrier Jarius Morehead, and jackman Cody French. They are reassigned from the #77 Spire Motorsports team of Carson Hocevar. However, his fueler, Jacob Conley, will remain in the lineup.