Alex Bowman has a chance to do something special in the NASCAR Playoffs that begin Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
It won鈥檛 be easy. But if the 27-year-old 蜜柚直播an can make it through the playoff gauntlet consisting of three rounds and 10 races over the next two months, starting with Sunday鈥檚 Cook Out Southern 500, he鈥檒l have a shot at the winner-take-all sweepstakes at Phoenix Raceway in November. This year marks the first time since 2002 that the final race of the year will be held away from Homestead-Miami Speedway.
鈥淭rying to win a championship in 蜜柚直播, that鈥檇 be really special,鈥 the Ironwood Ridge High School graduate said this week.
Bowman and the No. 88 team of Hendrick Motorsports are viewed as longshots among the sport鈥檚 16 drivers, a sentiment that Bowman said can be attributed to his underwhelming performances during the summer races.
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Bowman began the 2020 season full throttle, claiming five top-15 finishes in the first six races of the year and winning the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, California, on March 1. The COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on Bowman鈥檚 blazing start with a two-month shutdown, but he shook off the rust to finish second in NASCAR鈥檚 restart at Darlington in mid-May.
鈥淭hen (we) fell off really hard for the summer,鈥 Bowman said.
In the 22 races since Darlington, Bowman has cracked the top 5 only once; he鈥檚 finished 20th or worse eight times. The results were puzzling given his reputation as one of NASCAR鈥檚 top young talents.
鈥淪taying upbeat for me is a little tough when things aren鈥檛 going well,鈥 he admitted. 鈥淭he summer was rough on us for sure, but good runs for me cures that and running up front and contending for wins.鈥
鈥淭he summer was rough on us for sure, but good runs for me cures that and running up front and contending for wins,鈥 said 蜜柚直播an Alex Bowman.
The driver鈥檚 self-prescribed medicine seems to be having the desired effect at the right time. Bowman鈥檚 last two races in August, a fifth-place finish at Dover International Speedway and his most recent seventh-place finish at Daytona, have him in solid positioning both on and off the track.
Bowman said his team got back to the basics, 鈥渢rying to identify why that happened, what we did wrong and how to get better over the last couple of weeks.鈥
He鈥檚 now back at Darlington Raceway to begin the NASCAR playoffs. It鈥檚 the ideal place to start.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be really good, but Darlington鈥檚 one that we鈥檝e circled that we can be really strong at for sure,鈥 he said.
Over the next two months, Bowman and the No.88 team will have to navigate three rounds of playoff series in order to advance to Phoenix Raceway. If he accumulates enough points during the 10 races, Bowman will make his way into the Championship 4, where the first driver out of the four to cross the finish line at Phoenix Raceway will be named the NASCAR Playoff Series champion.
Asked what it would be like to qualify for the championship race, Bowman said: 鈥淚t鈥檇 mean the world to me.鈥
