Hendrick Motorsports will have new pit-crew personnel set to go over the wall for Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Chevrolet this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, aiming to provide a boost to the team’s fortunes in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
The No. 48 Chevy team will use four pit-crew members previously with the No. 77 Spire Motorsports group and driver Carson Hocevar in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Hendrick Motorsports supplies Spire’s three-car operation with pit-crew athletes.
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The move comes after pit-stop gaffes for the No. 48 team in consecutive weeks to open the Cup Series Playoffs. Bowman was slowed by a nearly 40-second stop in the postseason opener at Darlington Raceway two weeks ago, when the pit-gun air hoses became disconnected. Bowman never recovered from the lost ground and finished 31st, two laps down. Last Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, the jack dropped before the left-rear wheel was fully fastened in a mid-race stop, and the time lost knocked Bowman from seventh to 30th in the running order. He finished 26th after a pit-road speeding penalty compounded his issues.
“It was just really poor execution on all angles today,” Bowman said Sunday at Gateway. “It was a bummer.”
Bowman ranks 15th of the 16 drivers eligible for the Cup Series title, and he faces a 35-point deficit entering Saturday’s elimination race, which will trim four drivers from the playoff field.
The No. 48 team did not make a switch at the fueler position. Pitting the No. 48 this weekend will be: Daniel Bach (front changer), Rod Cox (rear changer), Jarius Morehead (tire carrier), Cody French (jack) and Jacob Conley (fueler).
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