CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Alex Bowman opened NASCAR's playoffs on defense — not of his style of driving, but of his status in the seat of the No. 48 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports.
The first playoff race was just days away and Bowman spent an entire afternoon insisting rumors he'd be out of the car next season were untrue.
“That rumor has certainly been annoying," Bowman said. “All I can tell you is like what my bosses have told me, and that is that there are no plans to change anything. As far as I know, I’m driving the No. 48 next year. Just focused on trying to be strong the next 10 weeks.”
Despite the assurances from Hendrick Motorsports and a contract that runs through next season, Bowman still had doubters. Then he finished fifth in the playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway, moved into the top 10 in points, and received a public endorsement from boss Rick Hendrick.
“The team is really happy, the sponsor is really happy, so we're good to go,” said Hendrick, who answered “yes” when asked if Bowman would “unequivocally” be in the HMS lineup next year.
That sentiment was backed by Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing officer of Bowman sponsor Ally, who reposted Hendrick's quote on social media “To all the doubters.” She added an emoji that intimates “be quiet.”
Bowman was then 18th at Watkins Glen and ninth Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he started on the pole and advanced into the second round of the playoffs. His 120 points scored in the three races was the most among the 16 drivers, and unlike former Cup champions Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr., Bowman avoided playoff elimination.
The reseeding process has him ranked 11th out of 12 drivers and below the cutline as NASCAR heads to Kansas Speedway for Sunday's second round opening race.
“We did what we needed the whole first round of the playoffs, but also we want to be better and continue that through the next round,” said Bowman, who doesn't think the speculation about his future will stop.
“They’ll keep talking. I’m not worried about it,” he said.
The talk seems pointless as Bowman has turned his season around and is one of a handful of surprise drivers to advance into the second round. Although Ty Gibbs and Harrison Burton were not considered title contenders and their first-round elimination was not shocking, the departure of Keselowski and Truex opened up slots to otherwise overlooked drivers.
The field is led into Kansas by Kyle Larson, who obliterated the competition at Bristol by leading all but 38 of the 500 laps Saturday night and winning by more than 7 seconds. Then there's Christopher Bell, a final four participant the last two seasons, regular season champion Tyler Reddick, William Byron, defending Cup champion Ryan Blaney and the usual cast of characters.
The surprises are Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Daniel Suarez — any of whom could have been picked as first round dropouts based on their season-long performance.
Stewart-Haas Racing has hardly been competitive this season and is closing three of its four teams in November, yet Briscoe has surged in his final months in the No. 14 Ford. He snatched the final spot in the playoff field by winning the regular season finale at Darlington, then rallied from crashing at Atlanta with finishes of sixth and eighth in the next two races.
He dropped to last in the field with the points reset before Kansas, but he's still a contender.
“I don’t think anybody believes this, but I really think we can battle for the championship,” Briscoe said. “And I think these last two weeks show that. We’re hitting our stride at the right time, and with this format, if you can just be good for 10 weeks, then you can be a champion.
"I feel like we’re as strong as any team right now.”
Cindric made it through with consistency, scoring back-to-back 10th-place finishes at Atlanta and Watkins Glen, and then was 13th at Bristol — enough to advance the Team Penske driver.
“I don’t know what the average finish is for the round, but two top-10s and a 13th, that’s what we need to do as a team," Cindric said, "and it’s something we had challenges putting together, but the potential is there. Everything resets, so no reason why we can’t replicate that performance.”
Suarez, despite nearly winning the opener at Atlanta, found himself in trouble at Bristol with a Trackhouse Racing entry that lacked the speed needed to be competitive. He struggled the entire race and, with a 31st-place finish, barely made it into the second round.
But as soon as the race was over, Suarez was already looking toward the second round, which starts at Kansas, then goes to Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, and the hybrid road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“I think we’re going to be pretty good. I’m really excited for Kansas. I think we can be competitive there,” Suarez said. "A superspeedway, as we all know, anything can happen. And a road course in there, always puts a smile on my face.”