At the age of 33, most drivers would keep retirement as an afterthought. But Alex Bowman dropped a bombshell when he said he would retire from full-time racing after 2027, citing injury issues and a desire to do other things in life as the reason behind his decision. For those working closely with him at Hendrick Motorsports, Chase Elliott, for instance, it would be weird not having him around. And ahead of the Brickyard 400, the eight-time winner of NASCAR’s most-popular driver award shared what having Bowman as a teammate meant to the organization.
Elliott always felt that Bowman, despite being a fierce competitor, was a great teammate to all HMS drivers. Instead of just focusing on getting the best result for himself, Bowman would think about Hendrick Motorsports as a whole.
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“He’s put a lot of time and a lot of effort into Hendrick Motorsports. I felt like, as a whole, to help make us all better and, you know, helped everybody’s performance improve over the course of his time here. And yeah, it’s kind of, it’s weird talking about it because he’s still got a whole another year and a half, right?” Elliott said at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway per an X post shared by veteran reporter Bob Pockrass.
Bowman signed a one-year extension with HMS that will keep him on the team through the end of the 2027 season. This year, he’s set to take part in the remaining five races of the regular season, and unless he makes a miraculous recovery in the standings, he’ll miss the Chase. He’s currently 29th in the standings, 203 points behind 16th-place Austin Cindric.
But Elliott feels there’s still a lot for Bowman to look forward to and achieve with Hendrick Motorsports through the 2027 season. He revealed in the interview that he sent Bowman a message expressing exactly that.
“There’s still a lot of opportunity, I think, for him to do, you know, run the way I know he wants to run and run the way that we all want to win and perform at a high level. And I think that that’s how he wants to end his full-time driving days. I hope that’s the case. I think he deserves it. He’s put the time in, and certainly I think he’s capable of doing it,” Elliott continued.
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2026 has not been a good season for Bowman. He began the year with a vertigo diagnosis, which raised questions about his long-term fitness. As a result, he missed four Cup Series races. Even after returning, he’s struggled, with just three top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes. His average finishing position this year is 21.8, his worst since 2015.
Bowman’s teammates at HMS are in a much better position. Elliott is fifth, Kyle Larson is sixth, and William Byron is 12th. All three drivers look like they’re headed to the Chase.
But for Elliott, a 2027 redemption is on the cards for Bowman, who has always been the ultimate team player. With eight wins for HMS over the years, including four in 2021 alone, he’s proved he can carry the organization’s banner at an elite level. Not many drivers can boast of making the playoffs seven times, after all. And while he may not have the trophy cabinet or the headlines of Elliott or Larson, he has been a vital cog in the team’s success in recent years.
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The post “It’s Weird Talking About It”- Chase Elliott Opens Up on Alex Bowman’s Legacy Ahead of His Final Full-Time Season appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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