Alex Bowman Admits He Had An “Unacceptable Day” at Darlington

Alex Bowman suffered from some disappointing circumstances at the Cook Out Southern 500 in Darlington. Bowman’s struggles started early on, since the beginning of the weekend after he achieved a P21 start to the race. The #48 driver, who barely cleared into the playoffs, has walked out of the weekend amongst the drivers with the lowest score in the playoffs.

Alex Bowman qualified for the playoffs at the last race, following Ryan Blaney‘s stellar victory, which helped the former qualify based on points standings. Bowman was excited to head into the playoffs and hoped for better results. However, after qualifying in P21, the 32-year-old couldn’t do much on the track and ultimately finished in P31, being two laps down at Darlington.

Speaking of his dismal outing on Sunday, Alex Bowman opened up and revealed the bitter truth. Bowman accepted that he suffered a ‘sh**ty’ and unacceptable day on multiple fronts. He added that his pace was mediocre right from the beginning of the weekend. Moreover, after being stuck in the pitstop for over 40 seconds, the #48 driver pointed out that everything fell apart from that point forward.

Just a sh***y, unacceptable day on all fronts, you know. We weren’t great when we unloaded, didn’t qualify well. Got caught up in that first deal a little bit, lost a little bit of track position that we had, and then just kind of fell apart from there.

Alex Bowman said in a post-race interview.

Despite the problematic situations at the Cook Out Southern 500, Alex Bowman still reckoned that the team was just really slow. Bowman would have to take a look back at the race day and ensure that such issues do not come up again, especially since he couldn’t even see his teammates on track. Finally, the #48 driver concluded his day by labeling it a ‘sh*t’ day.

Honestly, without all that, we’re just really, really slow….Obviously, I’ll have to look at it, but I can see my teammates. So, I assume we all missed it a little bit, and yeah, just a s**t day.

Alex Bowman added.

HMS chief Jeff Gordon claims Alex Bowman handles pressure ‘very well’

Even though Alex Bowman had a disappointing outing on Sunday, he would still try his level best to bounce back on track in the coming races and maintain his spot in the playoffs. Bowman is currently tied at the bottom of the playoff standings after Darlington. Hence, the #48 driver must come up with better results at the two upcoming races and maintain his spot.

Despite the current situation looking difficult for Alex Bowman, HMS chief Jeff Gordon opens up on the former’s chances to succeed. Gordon insisted that Bowman had a lot of work to do in the upcoming races. The 54-year-old added that the 32-year-old had an uphill climb in terms of securing his spot in the round of 12. Regardless, the chief has confidence in the team and the driver and emphasized that the #48 driver handled pressure well and would surely bounce back.

Now hey, they’ve got work to do, right? You get behind as far as going into this first round without those added bonuses and playoff points. You got a bit of an uphill climb. And I think there’s pressure on the 48 team, but I also have a lot of confidence. Alex handles pressure well.

Jeff Gordon said via SiriusXM Radio.

The 2025 season has peaked in competition and excitement at all fronts. HMS has enjoyed a highly successful year this time around as all four drivers made it into the playoffs. Now, time will tell if Alex Bowman manages to eke out his spot in the round of 12, as it looks extremely difficult from this point. He will still give it his all and ensure that he maintains his spot for as long as possible.

Read More: William Byron’s Crew Is “Embarrassed” Over Poor Darlington Performance

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