Spotter Kevin Hamlin is not happy with Alex Bowman after a little bit of complaining and griping on the radio about Kyle Larson. Bowman was coming up to Larson quickly for the Stage 2 win but was denied by the NASCAR champion.
Alex Bowman has had to wait a long time to get into a position to potentially win. You could argue that Bowman had the faster car toward the end of the second stage. However, Larson was able to hold him off with aero blocks and by getting through lapped traffic quickly.
“Much appreciated, 5 car,” Bowman said on his radio.
“He’s not going to pull over for you. You’ve got to go f------ earn it,” Kevin Hamlin responded, via Tom Bowles.
Then things got a little more intense on the radio.
“Whining about a teammate racing for the win. Just shut the f--- up and drive it,” Kevin Hamlin relayed to Alex Bowman.
There are a lot of frustrations on the track. So, I’m not going to read too much into this. Bowman’s spotter is just trying to get his driver to focus on the task at hand. You can’t get worked up about a teammate fighting you hard for a stage win and a playoff point.
Dover is a hard track to race. It is fast, tight, and the sensation of speed is greater than anything these drivers are going to experience on the Cup Series schedule. It’s also hot in Dover right now, so temperatures on the track and inside the car are only going to make it tougher.
Alex Bowman having a great run at Dover
The Hendrick Motorsports camp has been doing well today. At one point, all four drivers were in the top-10. However, as the race has dragged on, it is clear that Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman were the two fastest cars in the group.
This season has actually been really good for Bowman, and quietly so. He only has one DNF and that was at Texas. He’s earned four top-5 finishes, tied for most in the Cup Series this season, and has another top-10 finish to his record as well.
You can compare the first 10 races of the season to last year’s first 10 and it looks very familiar. Dover is a track Bowman performs well at. He has a win at the Monster Mile to his name and a number of other quality performances. His last time at Dover in 2022, he was P5.
Alex Bowman needs to just focus on himself. He can’t let his frustrations of not being able to take the lead cost him another top-5 finish. This race is getting down to the end and there is a lot more that can happen between now and that checkered flag.
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