Alex Bowman’s runner-up streak mirrors NASCAR greats. Will it end on Sunday?
Alex Bowman is the first NASCAR driver in almost 50 years to finish second in three consecutive races while still hunting for his win.
Could one streak end and another one begin Sunday at the Coca-Cola 600?
No one in the modern era of NASCAR, which dates back to 1972, has done what Bowman has done before getting his first checkered flag.
At Talladega, he trailed teammate Chase Elliott during a caution flag finish. That was his career-best result, topping his third-place finish at Pocono last year.
At Dover, Bowman ran second again to Martin Truex Jr. when Truex pulled ahead with a run-away win.
At Kansas two weeks ago, Brad Keselowski pulled ahead of Bowman with 10 laps to go and held the young driver off in an overtime finish.
No wins, but Bowman draws satisfaction from the trio of near-misses at widely different tracks.
“It kind of validates all of the hard work everybody’s been putting in,” Bowman said. “I feel like we have some momentum behind us now and can continue that.”
Rick Hendrick, Bowman’s racing team owner says Bowman is getting close to his break-through win.
“I wasn’t there at Kansas, but I was holding my breath. Golly, that was so close,” Hendrick said. “You’re frustrated at the time, but the next day or two, you say, ‘Hey, we’ve done this now three times in a row.’ You know it’s coming.”
Hendrick Motorsports has two young drivers coming into the Coca-Cola 600 riding a draft of momentum — Bowman and William Byron. On Thursday, Byron, a 21-year-old Charlotte native, became the youngest pole winner ever for the Coca-Cola 600. It’s hard not to think one of the two could win during Sunday’s race.
Finishing second in three consecutive races has happened 14 times since 1972; the last time was in 2017 when Kyle Larson finished second at Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip (1978 and 1983) and Jeff Gordon (1998 and 1999) are the only two to achieve the feat multiple seasons.
Both drivers, as well as others like Richard Petty and Larson, ended their runner-up streak with wins. In 1975, Petty won the summer race at Daytona before three consecutive second-place finishes at Nashville, Pocono and Talladega. He then won at Michigan.
Waltrip’s four-race streak of placing second happened in 1983 before ending with a win at Bristol. As for Gordon, he capped his runner-up streak at Dover, Michigan and Pocono before winning at Sonoma.
Growing up, Gordon was one of Bowman’s biggest role models. It’s because of Gordon that Bowman, 26, got into racing.
“My dad was a big race fan and he was a big Jeff Gordon fan,” Bowman said. “Jeff Gordon started racing quarter midgets, which are kind of like go karts, and my dad knew that. One day he showed up at home with a quarter midget, and it kind of took off from there.”
Gordon had his first career win with Hendrick Motorsports in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1994. With how closely Bowman, who also drives for Hendrick, mirrors Gordon, as well as other NASCAR greats, the question remains if the Coca-Cola 600 will be his chance to end his runner-up streak. Now Bowman gets his chance. The Tucson, Ariz., native got his first Xfinity Series win here in 2017.
Bowman will start 13th in Sunday’s race. During Thursday’s qualifying, his matte blue No. 88 car zipped around Charlotte Motor Speedway. Stars and stripes flow from the front of the car to the back.
The name of Chief Petty Officer Jon “JT” Tumilson, one of those dozens killed in the infamous “Extortion 17” attack in 2011, was written above the passenger’s side window, part of NASCAR’s “600 Miles of Remembrance” program.
Even though he’ll start the race several rows back, Bowman believes his first win remains in reach.
“It’s a really long night,” Bowman said, “but hopefully looking forward to having a really good race car and being up front.”
This story was originally published May 24, 2019 at 2:08 PM.