Alex Bowman has openly acknowledged the challenges Hendrick Motorsports faces against Team Penske, especially after recent races where Penske’s performance spotlighted Bowman’s struggles. The 2024 and 2025 Cup Series events showcased how Team Penske’s pace at key tracks has set a high benchmark, while Bowman’s quest for a win continues to fuel intense competition and introspection within Hendrick Motorsports.
Penske’s Dominance Highlights HMS Performance Gap
During a post-race discussion with NASCAR analyst Bob Pockrass, Alex Bowman spoke candidly about how Team Penske cars outperformed Hendrick Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway. In the critical 2024 Cup Series championship race, Joey Logano of Team Penske clinched the front row start, narrowly trailing only Martin Truex Jr., and quickly seized the lead to win stage one. Logano’s teammate Ryan Blaney followed up by dominating and taking victory in stage two. While William Byron managed to find a place among the top five, his HMS teammates—Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Bowman—qualified further back, with Bowman securing P16.
Team Penske’s command on the track culminated in Joey Logano earning his third Cup Series championship title, while Ryan Blaney completed a Penske sweep by finishing as runner-up, reinforcing Ford’s dominance at Phoenix. Bowman’s reflections included a frank admission of HMS’s current shortcomings:
“We’ve really struggled there [at Phoenix], but at the same time, we — to be blunt — just have a lot of work to do there, to catch the Penske cars. They’re incredibly fast there.”
Bowman expressed confidence in his team’s commitment to improving performance at these pivotal events:
“We have been getting to work, trying to improve that stuff. So a lot of smart people back at HMS working on it.” Bowman added.
The competitive gap was further underscored during the 2025 Cook Out Southern 500, where Penske’s Austin Cindric finished ahead of all Hendrick Motorsports drivers. Only Larson and Elliott managed top-20 finishes for HMS, with Byron in P21 and Bowman finishing in P31, highlighting the persistent struggle to match Penske’s speed and results.
Bowman Candid About Being Winless in 2025
As the 2025 season advanced toward its conclusion, Alex Bowman spoke openly to Racer.com about his status as the only Hendrick Motorsports driver yet to claim a win this year. While his teammates have all tasted victory—Chase Elliott at Atlanta, Kyle Larson three times, and William Byron twice—Bowman has endured a season of near-misses and frustration.
Bowman, who pilots the #48 car, has narrowly missed out on victory at several key Cup Series races. He finished second behind Larson at Homestead-Miami Speedway, secured third-place finishes at both Atlanta and Dover, and claimed another runner-up result at Richmond Raceway. Bowman detailed his close calls and the misfortune that has prevented a win so far:
“Yeah, I feel like we should have won by now, and we’ve been close. Homestead, we were close. Richmond, we were close. I think we had a car very capable of winning Texas if we didn’t crash, which was totally out of our control. Kansas, we were capable of winning before we got damaged. So, we’ve had plenty of races that we’ve had winning cars. But unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out for us this season. We haven’t had that perfect day yet.”
Despite the absence of a win, Bowman has put up consistent performances, ranking 15th in Cup Series points with 2008 to his name. His season stats include six top-five finishes and fourteen top-ten finishes across twenty-seven starts, keeping him competitive despite the lack of a breakthrough victory.
Outlook for Bowman and Hendrick Motorsports
Bowman’s frank appraisals and the intensity surrounding his performance mirror the ongoing rivalry between Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske. While Ford and Team Penske have capitalized on their strengths at critical events like Phoenix and the Cook Out Southern 500, Bowman and his HMS colleagues remain driven to close the gap. With major races remaining on the calendar and development efforts ongoing at Hendrick Motorsports, the battle for wins and championship standings is far from over. As the season progresses, all eyes will remain on whether Bowman’s struggle against Team Penske finally translates into long-awaited success.
