Alex Bowman held off a hard charge from Kyle Larson in the final laps to win his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race in the Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
With 8 laps to go Larson powered past Bowman, and looked as though the Chip Ganassi Racing driver was sailing towards victory. As Bowman was passed in the final laps by Larson, a flashback to Kansas was growing ever more likely. However, the Hendrick Motorsports driver didn’t give up and began searching for a faster lane to catch Larson. Just as quickly as Bowman lost the lead, the 26 year old powered past Larson to regain the top position and went on to earn his first MENCS victory.
The Tuscan Arizona driver led a fitting 88 laps on his way to his first victory, and also the first victory for the Hendrick Motorsports 88 team since 2015. After finishing 2nd three straight races at Talladega, Dover, and Kansas, Bowman was left to wonder what if after coming so close to victory lane.
“After Kansas, we ran 2nd and I was super bummed on that one. My family’s from there and I really wanted to win that race. We gave one away and that was on me. So I was pretty hard on myself.” said Bowman discussing the struggles after coming so close at Kansas earlier in the season.
“Getting a Cup win is something that kind of relaxes me – there were definitely times where I was very worried and it made going to the racetrack not a lot of fun, but I’m glad we’re having a lot of fun now,” continued Bowman.
Bowman’s crew chief Greg Ives discussed the final laps from his point of view up on the pitbox, “Finishing 2nd there has been valuable for us to learn and grow as a team. It just kind of mimicked what happened in Kansas, but I think Alex had some experience behind him – he just had to stay after it and attack.”
Hendrick Motorsports Gaining Traction after Camping World 400
With Bowman’s victory in Chicagoland, HMS now has two victories on the season between Bowman and Chase Elliott. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson ran 4th and William Byron finished 8th in the Camping World 400 Sunday night.
The four car team has turned the corner after two years of struggling mightily upon the departure of Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kasey Kahne. However, Hendrick Motorsports has three drivers in their 20’s with plenty of talent, and now momentum as well to back it up.
