DAYTONA BEACH – Tucson’s Alex Bowman starts 7th in the 66th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
The 30-year-old is in search of his first career Daytona 500 victory and looking to do so in Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary season. Plus, Alex talks about his ongoing mission with Ally to save animals across the nation with Best Friends Animal Society.
A Daytona 500 win would make him the 43rd driver to hoist the Daytona 500 trophy, following fellow Arizonan, Michael McDowell and his 500 win in 2021. A win would also lock Bowman into the 2023 NASCAR Playoffs earning him an opportunity to race his way to the NASCAR championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 10.
Bowman succeeded seven-time champion, Jimmie Johnson, following his retirement at the conclusion of the 2020 season. The Tucson native would lead the team back to a sense of its former glory, claiming four victories in 2021. The No. 48 was unable to continue that success in 2022 though only finding Victory Lane once and also missed playoff races due to concussion symptoms following a wreck at Texas Motor Speedway.
After the retirement of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bowman was called to take the seat of the No. 88 and scored the 2018 Daytona 500 pole in his first full season with the team. Bowman finished 17th in the Daytona 500 that year and led 13 laps, the most laps Bowman has led in a single Daytona race. The best career Daytona 500 finish for the Tucson native was 5th place in last year’s edition of the Daytona 500.
The 66th running of the Daytona 500 takes the green at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The series returns to Phoenix Raceway for the Shriners Children’s 500 weekend March 8-10, tickets are still available for all three days of action. Plus, NASCAR Championship Weekend returns to Phoenix Raceway to crown four champions in three days November 8-10.
