The 2026 season in particular hasn’t been kind to Alex Bowman. Entering a contract year with Hendrick Motorsports, the No. 48 driver was struck with vertigo symptoms during the March 1 race at COTA. He missed the next four races, and now, after eleven races since coming back, the results on the track have been far from what he could have made peace with – especially with the backdrop of his contract situation.

“I don’t feel like I am racing for my job or anything like that. So, really just week to week kind of focused on getting it back in the right direction,” Bowman said during a media Zoom, as shared by Jeff Gluck on X.

“I want to make the right decision for myself, I guess. Yeah, certain things haven’t gone how I wanted them to go, and yeah, I am at a point in life where I am super blessed to be in a position where I don’t have to do this forever.

“And, yeah, I got to make the right decision, and I want Hendrick Motorsports to make the right decision and kind of everyone to be on board with whatever we do. So yeah, I think I have a lot of faith in Rick and Jeff and everybody to guide all of us the right way. Whatever happens, happens.”

Bowman has been winless since the July 2024 Chicago Street Course race, and that win itself came after an 80-race drought. He has also scored just two wins since the Next Gen car arrived in 2022. Earlier this year, Jeff Gordon had acknowledged the situation – his primary demand being for Bowman to deliver competitive data, not contend for a title.

However, even those modest aspirations have been difficult to meet with consistency. The No. 48 showed signs of a return with consecutive top-five finishes at Talladega and Texas, but the form didn’t hold.

Moreover, the names of Trackhouse Racing’s Connor Zilisch and HMS development driver Corey Day have been mentioned as potential replacements in the No. 48 for 2027. Zilisch is under a multi-year contract with Trackhouse, meaning any 2027 move would require a buyout — which Bianchi reported makes a 2028 arrival more realistic. And Day, who has wins at Talladega and Dover in the O’Reilly Series this year, is already inside the HMS pipeline.

Add to that how Ally’s sponsorship of the No. 48 is set to expire after the 2028 season, adding a longer-term financial dimension to how HMS manages any transition at that seat.

Speaking of which, will Alex Bowman be able to achieve the same in the upcoming weeks?

Alex Bowman gets a rare chance at redemption

As NASCAR returns to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019, Bowman walks in as the track’s last Cup winner. That victory was also his first career Cup win and his first with HMS.

“It feels like a really long time ago,” Bowman said Tuesday in a media availability. “I’m definitely looking forward to getting back there.”

He battled Kyle Larson for the lead in the closing laps that day, lost it, and took it right back — a sequence that, at the time, announced him as a legitimate winner in this sport.

He also arrives with unexpected momentum in the In-Season Challenge. At Sonoma, Bowman, seeded 32nd, eliminated No. 1 seed Tyler Reddick after Reddick suffered a power steering failure, advancing to face Austin Cindric at Chicagoland with the $1 million prize still in play.

“Yeah, certainly pays pretty well to win,” Bowman said. “Think we’re plenty capable. Obviously, we went pretty far last year.”

Like most of the Cup field, he has no Next Gen experience at the oval after its seven-year absence, which levels the playing field to some degree. A win here won’t end the conversation around his future. But it would make it a much harder one for anyone to have.