Jeff Gordon applauds Alex Bowman after strong Texas run

After three poor results to start the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, followed by a four-race absence due to vertigo symptoms, Alex Bowman needed a monumental surge to get his momentum back and begin building towards a run at the Chase. 

That's exactly what he's done over the last two races. After finishing a season-high third at Talladega on April 26, Bowman ran inside the top 10 throughout Sunday's race and finished third again, even giving a crucial shove to race winner Chase Elliott on the final restart.

"Great day for Alex Bowman," Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports' vice chairman, told Fox Sports. "He's been through a lot. He's fought hard. We couldn't be more proud of them."

Momentum is on Alex Bowman's side

"It feels good just to be having solid days and finishing races," Bowman said. "Super happy for this Ally No. 48 team. Happy for the 9 on the win. We got way better from where we unloaded. Definitely momentum headed in the right direction."

Bowman climbed to 34th in the standings following Sunday's race and is now 127 points behind 16th-place Chase Briscoe for the final provisional Chase berth. On average, Bowman would need to gain roughly 8.5 points per race on the 16th-place driver to reach the top 16 by the end of the regular season at Daytona in August.