Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports’ perennial “let’s hope nothing breaks this week” driver, will miss a second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race after vertigo has refused to let him get anywhere near the No. 48 Chevrolet. This time it’s Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Hendrick has tapped Justin Allgaier to slide into the seat on Sunday.
Bowman first realized something was seriously off during the March 1 race at Circuit of the Americas. Midway through the event, after 71 laps of trying to wrestle the car around the track, he pulled over and called it a day. Myatt Snider filled in for Bowman’s first-ever Cup laps, a polite reminder that life doesn’t always go according to plan—especially if your inner ear has a vendetta.
“Alex continues to work closely with doctors toward being medically cleared, but he’s still experiencing some lingering symptoms,” Hendrick Motorsports president Jeff Andrews said. “He’s put a lot into the recovery process, and we will continue to support him every step of the way. Our priority remains making sure Alex is fully ready before returning to the race car.” Translation: Hendrick doesn’t want to risk having Bowman shake, rattle, and roll his way into another crash.
Last weekend, simulation driver Anthony Alfredo took the wheel at Phoenix, running as high as seventh before getting caught in a Lap 217 incident and finishing 33rd. Not exactly the welcome wagon for a first non-drafting Cup appearance in over two years, but hey, someone has to hold the fort while Bowman spins his way back to health.
Enter Justin Allgaier: 39, 29-time winner in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and a veteran relief driver for Hendrick when things go sideways. Allgaier just won at Phoenix last Saturday, so he arrives in Las Vegas with some serious momentum—and a track record of slipping into Hendrick rides with surprising competence. He’s filled in before for Jimmie Johnson at the 2020 Brickyard 400 and for Kyle Larson at last year’s Coca-Cola 600, where he ran 13th. Not bad for someone stepping in midseason like a replacement quarterback in a Monday Night Football thriller.
Bowman, now in his ninth season with Rick Hendrick’s team, sits 36th in the Cup standings after a season-opening scramble at Daytona and EchoPark Speedway. While vertigo is an unusual nemesis for a NASCAR driver, it’s at least consistent with the theme of Bowman’s career the last few years: concussions, fractured vertebrae, and now dizziness keeping him from the cockpit.
And while Hendrick Motorsports waits for Bowman to get medically cleared, the whispers are growing louder: 2026 could be a pivotal season for the Tucson native. He’s technically a free agent after this year, and Hendrick’s upper-tier trio of Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and William Byron isn’t exactly the friendliest comparison. Bowman’s streak of “almost there, but not quite” races makes the No. 48 seat suddenly look a lot more audition-like than permanent.
For now, the message is simple: health first, steering wheel second, and Vegas third. But in NASCAR, as always, the season doesn’t wait, and neither do the rumors.
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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