What Jeff Gordon said about Alex Bowman on being HMS’ worst performer at WWT Raceway

Alex Bowman’s 26th-place finish in Sunday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway was the worst among all Hendrick Motorsports drivers. The Chevy star had entered the race ranked 15th, with a 19-point deficit below the cutoff line. So he had to log a solid performance to make the next round, the Round of 12.

His hopes were shattered, followed by an candid admission from Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman and four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon. At no point during the race was Bowman able to make the top 10, let alone finish it. He even suffered issues on pit road, besides NASCAR handing him a speeding penalty.

As reported by journalist Kelly Crandall on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gordon told her during a post-race interview that he wasn’t counting out the No. 48 team (of Bowman) yet. However, he added,

“We just can't get things to go right on pit road. ... We got to figure that out, for sure."

Alex Bowman’s finish at WWT follows a pair of dismal finishes in the regular season finale at Daytona and the opening race of the Round of 16 at Darlington Raceway, which took place last week. Today, he sits 15th in the championship standings, 35 points below the cutline.

“It was just really poor execution on all angles today. It was a bummer,” Alex Bowman told NBC Sports. “I thought our No. 48 Ally Chevrolet was OK once we were kind of towards the front-half. We just struggled in the back. Super frustrating, but all we can do is keep digging.”

Next up for Bowman is the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Scheduled for next Saturday, September 13, the 500-lap event will stream live on USA (7:30 pm ET) with exclusive radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Alex Bowman backs his Team Penske rival amid “illegitimate” championship claims

There have been drivers who still want the old-school, 36-race, season-long points championship system to return. Some of them have even dissed the current elimination-style format. But Joey Logano isn’t one of them.

Alex Bowman found nothing wrong with that. He too is an old-school guy, like a few others, including Jimmie Johnson and active drivers like his teammate Chase Elliott and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. But that doesn’t make Logano’s championship titles illegitimate.

“I’ve seen people who try to say that like Joey’s taking advantage of it, right? Because he struggled throughout the year last year, got one win, and then kicked all our asses in the playoffs,” Bowman said in a statement.

“That doesn’t make him an illegitimate champion. He has the system that we all have to work with, and he worked with it better than the rest of us. I don’t think that makes it illegitimate,” he added.

Joey Logano is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion. As a playoff driver, he is vying for his fourth championship, which will tie him with the likes of Jeff Gordon. Alex Bowman, on the other hand, has yet to earn his career-first championship title. But for now, his eyes are on Bristol.