After winning NASCAR’s Camping World 400 last weekend in Joliet, Illinois, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥an Alex Bowman climbed aboard a helicopter and flew to Wilmington, North Carolina, to buy a new car.
He bought a custom Camaro from, of all places, NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon Chevrolet dealership, and then drove it 3½ hours to his racing headquarters near Charlotte.
After 134 NASCAR races – 11 finishes in the top 10 — the Ironwood Ridge High School grad has climbed to No. 9 in NASCAR’s Monster Energy standings and has established himself as one of the world’s leading auto racers.
That’s quite a journey from the day in 2012 I walked into The Depot on Fort Lowell Road and met Alex and his father, Sean, proprietor of an auto body repair shop in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
At 18, Alex’s racing career was overflowing with success. He had won more than 160 races in a 13-year career at every conceivable level – midgets, short tracks, the K&N Pro Series, the ARCA Series. He was a racing prodigy like few others, a national champion nine times.
“Alex has the potential for the NASCAR series,†Sean Bowman said that day. “Now we just need a bit of luck.â€
At the time, Alex Bowman drove an old Chevy Cobalt with 63,000 miles back and forth to race headquarters in North Carolina.
Behind Sean’s energy and ambition — he hustled up sponsorships from Allegiant Airlines, the Port of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and many more — young Alex Bowman ultimately was hired to drive car No. 88 for the renowned Hendrick Motorsports organization.
He has taken it a step beyond ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s two iconic auto racers, Roger McCluskeyÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýBill Cheesbourg, both of whom started from scratch and became regulars in the Indy 500 for many years, when that was one of America’s four leading sports events.
At 26, about 20 years after he entered his first race, Alex Bowman appears to just be getting started.