Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Alex Bowman Battles Back From Costly 40-Second Pit Road Nightmare as Chase Briscoe Dominates Stage 2 at Darlington

Originally posted on The SportsRush | By Jerry Bonkowski | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 11:33 PM ET

Alex Bowman’s hopes to advance to the second round of the NASCAR playoffs took a major hit during Stage 2 of Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports crew had all kinds of problems when Bowman brought his car onto pit road for a service stop. Instead of the 10 or 11 seconds for a routine stop, a plethora of issues caused Bowman to remain in his pit stall for an unbelievable 40 seconds.

But somehow, the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet miraculously managed to recover and get back on the lead lap. When he exited pit road after the fateful stop, he was two laps down, but was able to climb back in the mix.

Things go from bad to worse for @Alex_Bowman.

Following this extended stop, the No. 48 is 36th, two laps down. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/06Kk8GEFfT

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 31, 2025

What happened to Bowman appears to be primarily an issue with a bad air gun. While the right rear tire was being changed, the tire changer had a defective air gun. Somehow, the jackman went around to the left side before the right rear tire was properly affixed.

Welcome back to the lead lap, @Alex_Bowman. The No. 48 car has earned the free pass. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/4nIfdDzbqT

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 1, 2025

The jackman had to go back to the right side to lift it up so the rear tire could be affixed, before returning to lift the left side for its two tires.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota driver Chase Briscoe was the big star of the race, winning the first and second stages and leading more than 200 of the first 258 laps in the scheduled 367-lap race.

Only once before in Southern 500 history has a driver won after leading at least 200 laps on the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped track. That driver was Kevin Harvick in the 2014 edition of the NASCAR Crown Jewel race.

This article first appeared on The SportsRush and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: