Alex Bowman fires back at critics after Chicago Street Race win

Alex Bowman was feeling himself after snapping an 80-race NASCAR Cup Series winless streak during Sunday’s Chicago Street Race.

The Hendrick Motorsports star has been subject to criticism due to his lack of trips to Victory Lane over the last two and a half years. While Kyle Larson, William Byron and Chase Elliott have been regularly competing for wins, Bowman was wondering what he had to do to get back to a race-winning level.

Perhaps the floodgates will open for Bowman now, as he utilized an impressive drive to get the win in Chicago. Afterwards, while speaking with the media, the No. 48 wheelman fired back at critics who openly wondered whether he was worthy of his seat.

.@Alex_Bowman has a message for the haters. 🍻 pic.twitter.com/SU4NRzznVr

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 8, 2024

“Man, let me tell you about how great NASCAR is to us drivers. I got to my hotel room, there’s a little box with my name on it, that had a bottle of bourbon in it, so that’s in my bag. I’m pretty excited about that,” Bowman explained, following the race. “But I’ve got a couple bottles, that were bought early in 2022, that were like, ‘The next win, we’re going to drink these,’ and they’ve been sitting on the counter way too f—ing long.

“So yeah, everybody that said I couldn’t win and don’t deserve to be at Hendrick Motorsports and all that bulls—, cheers to you.”

As you can tell, the critics were on Bowman’s mind following the Chicago Street Race, and it felt sweet for the No. 48 wheelman to prove them all wrong. Now that he’s locked into the playoffs, the summer will be all about racking up points and preparing for a shot at the NASCAR Cup Series title in 2024.

It’s evident a huge weight was lifted off Alex Bowman’s shoulders in Chicago, and now he can race free over the next couple of weeks, leading into the playoffs. He’s been consistent all season long, so more trips to Victory Lane could be in store for the No. 48 moving forward.

Alex Bowman doesn’t want NASCAR to penalize Bubba Wallace for Chicago incident: ‘It was plenty deserved’

Meanwhile, tempers flared after the Grant Park 165 in Chicago on Sunday when Bubba Wallace intentionally slammed into winner Alex Bowman during a cool-down lap, but Bowman was apologetic after the incident.

In fact, he’s even advocating that NASCAR not punish Wallace for dooring him. According to Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, Bowman was firm on that point late Sunday evening, not wanting Wallace to face disciplinary measures for the post-race actions.

“He barely hit me, everything was fine and it was plenty deserved,” Bowman said.

The winning driver also explained that he had already taken some steps to try to smooth things over with Bubba Wallace after earlier spinning him out in during Stage 1. That was what Wallace was almost certainly heated about after the race.

“I’d be mad, too. I ruined his day,” Bowman said. “I just messed up. I’ve been embarrassed about it since it happened. I tried to call him during the rain delay and I shot him a text.”

As for his advocacy, Bowman will have to wait to see if NASCAR takes heed. Bubba Wallace will also be waiting, likely on pins and needles.

On3’s Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this article.