Alex Bowman continues hot start to season with runner-up finish at Homestead

No driver is off to a more consistent start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season than Alex Bowman. 

Bowman won the pole for Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 400 and finished runner-up to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson to earn his fifth top-10 finish over the season's first six races. Bowman is the only driver in the field with five top-10 finishes this season. 

Bowman finished second in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2, but his No. 48 Chevrolet really started to come along in Stage 3. After Bubba Wallace rocketed to the race lead on the race's final restart, Bowman gradually chased down Wallace, passing him for the lead on Lap 235. 

However, Larson began to chip away at Bowman's lead in the closing laps. With the faster No. 5 right behind him, Bowman made a crucial mistake on Lap 261, scrubbing the wall in turn three. 

Bowman's brush with the fence was all Larson needed to scoot away and secure the win. 

"I guess I choked that one away," Bowman told Fox Sports.