Alex Bowman was looking forward to the stretch of races ahead following a decent weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway. Both Dover and Kansas represent some of Bowman’s best race tracks; however, he did not end up driving the No. 48 car those weekends.
The 30-year-old driver fractured a vertebra in a sprint car racing accident in Kyle Larson’s new dirt racing series, High Limit Racing. It was a violent wreck that saw Bowman and another competitor flip several times before both walked away.
Three weeks later, the Hendrick Motorsports driver came to the race track for the first time since his incident. Find out what Bowman had to say about his return to NASCAR, injury recovery, and future racing endeavors outside of the sport below!
Related: Evaluating Hendrick Motorsports’ future after re-signing Alex Bowman
Alex Bowman gives several updates about his return to NASCAR, injury recovery, and more
Bowman had been away from the NASCAR circuit since the Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway but that changed when he entered Darlington Raceway as a spectator on Sunday. In his place, Josh Berry drove the No. 48 car around the track while he sat on the pit box.
This is not a new experience. Last season, Bowman suffered a concussion at Texas Motor Speedway in the playoffs and was sidelined for five races until the final race of the campaign at Phoenix Raceway.
It never gets easier seeing your car go around the track without you but luckily, it seems like Bowman is getting closer to a return. This is what the Hendrick Motorsports driver had to say about his potential return to NASCAR.
“I don’t have a time for an estimated return. I have a doctor’s appointment this week to get some more X-rays to see how it’s healing and we’ll go from there. I’m obviously mobile…I’ll heal up and come back when I can.
I don’t know (about the NASCAR All-Star Race)…it’s hard to answer that without seeing what the X-ray says this week…I don’t know until I talk to the doctor. But if the doctor is like, ‘Yeah, you’re healthy enough to race,’ I think for me, I just have to go get in a car; probably do some pit stops, maybe drive around a parking lot and go from there.”
Alex Bowman on his return to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023
Bowman said he does not have an estimated return; however, Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick said on Sunday after the event at Darlington that he thinks there is a “good shot” that his driver will return pretty quickly.
Of course, this all depends on how Bowman is feeling. He said the most painful things for him to do include laughing, coughing, sneezing, laying down, and trying to sleep. Bowman can stand and walk around better than any of those things.
However, the Arizona native also said that pulling his belts tight, being in the car when the jack drops, and hitting bumps would probably hurt his body. These might seem like big steps to take but thankfully for him, this week is not a points race as it is All-Star Weekend.
If Bowman wants to wait until the Coca-Cola 600 on May 28, that would be reasonable as it would allow him to focus on his recovery ahead of the longest race of the entire 2023 NASCAR season.
As for other racing series, Bowman said it is a tough decision on whether he will continue sprint car racing when he is healthy. Granted, he admitted that he will race again at some point. That point in time is simply unknown.
The good thing for Bowman and Hendrick Motorsports is that his return is coming sooner rather than later. Based on the initial timeline, it feels unlikely that he would miss the Coca-Cola 600 but it is not certain. For now, Sportsnaut continues to wish Alex Bowman a speedy recovery.
In the meantime, whether you are watching it live or looking for how to watch NASCAR on TV or another streaming platform, Sportsnaut has you covered for the upcoming weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway!
Check Out:Â How to watch the NASCAR All-Star Race