Alex Bowman Exposes the Financial Strain of Being a NASCAR Team Owner

Alex Bowman revealed how leading a team in NASCAR is a huge financial burden and not an easy affair.

Alex Bowman Exposes the Financial Strain of Being a NASCAR Team Owner

Alex Bowman (Via IMAGO)

In Short
  • Alex Bowman highlights the financial strain of owning a dirt racing team, revealing he handles all expenses and work himself.
  • Despite no race wins yet, Bowman remains committed to his team, Alex Bowman Racing, which he founded in 2016.
  • Bowman acknowledges his lack of skill in car fabrication but receives support from Hendrick Motorsports for that aspect.

Many of the NASCAR drivers are also team owners, as they are also interested in leading a team rather than just racing for it. The likes of Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, and others own a team in the NASCAR Cup Series itself. However, for Alex Bomwan, owning a team in dirt track racing isn’t an easy affair either. Bowman opened up on the financial strain that comes alongside owning a team in motorsports.

Alex Bowman founded the Alex Bowman Racing team back in 2016, operating out of Mooresville. The team was a way for Bowman to remain active in dirt racing and also compete full-time in the Cup Series. Though the team’s running has been far from ideal, with no race wins in any of the categories yet, the HMS star still hasn’t given up on the project.

After shrinking the Sprint car branch following a crash in 2023, Alex Bowman has now opened up on the financial struggles of running a team in dirt racing. Bowman revealed how he had to do all the work in the team and even pay the bills, as he was the sole owner. The 32-year-old wasn’t happy with this situation, despite team ABR enjoying some years of success in the Chili Bowl.

Still ended up doing all the work and paying all the bills and having none of the fun, and I was like, ‘This sucks.’ We’ve had some successful years (in Chili Bowl).

Alex Bowman said on the HOT ROD podcast.

Alex Bowman recalled the time when finances were literally being used with no endpoint. Bowman asserted that crashing a car felt like dollar signs falling off the car as it flipped in the air. The HMS star accepted that it certainly hurt him to see his hard-earned money go to waste. However, apart from the financial side of things, the 32-year-old believed that the project was very fun for him.

Had some years where my finances fly through the air and you flip over and over, and it’s like dollar signs falling off the car as it’s flipping. They’ve hurt a little bit, but yeah, it’s been a really fun thing for me to get to do.

Alex Bowman noted.

Alex Bowman reveals the aspect he’s not good at handling at ABR

Alex Bowman is certainly one of the better drivers when it comes to Cup racing. However, Bowman might not have achieved the picture-perfect career in dirt racing yet. Though the 32-year-old manages to run Alex Bowman Racing well, he still has some flaws that are stopping the team from achieving ultimate success in dirt racing.

Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman (via USA Today)
Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman (via USA Today)

Speaking on his shortcomings as a team owner, Alex Bowman noted that the fabrication side of things in the cars was something he was not good at. The HMS star accepted that he was not patient enough to be good at fabrication. However, Hendrick Motorsports helped Bowman with the fabrication of the cars in his dirt racing team. He reckoned that it had been fun up until now, as he looked forward to more such performances.

Honestly, like I do 90% of the prep work on those cars myself. One thing I’m not good at is the fabrication side of things. Like, I’m not patient enough, and I’m not good enough to do it at a level that I’m happy with. I have a lot of great friends at HMS that help me on the fab side of things, but beyond that, I’m doing all the prep work myself and working on them myself at the racetrack crew chiefing them, and it’s a lot of fun.

Alex Bowman noted.

Certainly, it isn’t an easy job to handle both duties of being a racer and a team owner in motorsport. Still, Bowman is trying his best and is not going to give up anytime soon. Time will tell about how ABR achieves success in dirt racing and place themselves among the big leagues.

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