Why Alex Bowman is under pressure in 2026

Alex Bowman is entering the most consequential season of his NASCAR Cup Series career. 

The 32-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., is going into his ninth season at Hendrick Motorsports likely needing a big year in order to stay at HMS going forward, as his contract with the organization only runs through the end of 2026. 

Why Alex Bowman is under pressure

Bowman, an eight-time Cup Series winner, is a solid Cup Series driver. He's made the playoffs in all but one of his nine seasons driving for HMS, and that was partially the result of him missing three races due to a back injury in 2023. 

But at a championship organization such as HMS, solid drivers don't always last. Hendrick expects championship-caliber performance from all four of its cars on an annual basis, and Bowman is yet to make the Championship 4 in his career. 

Contrast that to Kyle Larson, William Byron and Chase Elliott: Larson has won two Cup Series championships in five years at HMS, Byron has won back-to-back Daytona 500s and made the Championship 4 in three consecutive seasons and Elliott made the Championship 4 from 2020-22, taking home the 2020 championship.

Bowman has been far from bad during his HMS tenure, but at some point, he'll hit his head on his relatively low ceiling. 

Therein lies the elephant in the room: Chevrolet's star-studded talent pipeline. 

If Hendrick were to go looking for a new driver next offseason, there's plenty of homegrown options to pick from. Corey Day and Rajah Caruth will both drive for Hendrick's NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series program this season and have extensive backing from Rick Hendrick. Jesse Love won the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series championship with Richard Childress Racing in 2026, while young stars in Carson Hocevar and Connor Zilisch both drive for Chevy teams in the Cup Series. 

Bowman's current situation is a perfect storm that could lead to him being a free agent at the end of 2026 - but not if he puts together a career year and proves his worth as a true title threat.