Like Dale Earnhardt Jr. before him, Alex Bowman won't retire from NASCAR fully on his own terms

It's hard not to feel for Alex Bowman, who announced Thursday that he'll be retiring from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition at the end of 2027. 

The Hendrick Motorsports driver signed a one-year contract extension with HMS but will retire from Cup racing at the age of 34 and after only 12 full seasons, a very short career relative to his modern-era peers. 

And like the man he replaced at Hendrick Motorsports in 2018, he won't be going out fully on his own terms. 

Sure, Bowman is making the decision to retire himself. He's not being forced out by HMS at the end of this year despite being in the middle of his worst season since joining the organization. 

But injuries, which have been constant and pervasive in Bowman's career, have lead to what will be an early end to a solid tenure in the Cup Series.

Bowman dealt with vertigo and missed four races early this season. He missed three in 2023 after injuring his back and five in 2022 after suffering a concussion. 

He's had bad luck in other ways as well. He made it to the Round of 12 in the playoffs in 2022 before the aforementioned concussion and was leading the Cup Series standings in 2023 before being hit with a major penalty and his aforementioned back injury. In 2024, he initially advanced to the penultimate round of the playoffs before he was disqualified in post-race inspection at Charlotte and lost the spot, which went to eventual champion Joey Logano. 

That's not to say there haven't been shining moments in Bowman's career. There's been plenty of them. From his first win at Chicagoland in 2019, making the penultimate round of the playoffs in 2020, a four-win 2021 campaign that included his infamous run-in with Denny Hamlin at Bristol and his latest win in Chicago in 2024, Bowman has put together a NASCAR career most drivers would kill for. 

It's just a shame it's ending so soon. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered similar fate

Coincidentally, the man who endorsed Bowman as his Hendrick successor suffered a similar fate. Dale Earnhardt Jr. dealt with concussions throughout his career, and after serious ones in 2012 and 2016, he decided that the 2017 season would be his last. 

Notably, Earnhardt Jr. was 43 when he retired and in his 18th Cup Series season. He had already won 26 Cup races and was guaranteed to stick around in the sport as he has long after his driving career ended. 

The situations are similar but not the same. Bowman does not own a NASCAR team or a huge media brand like Earnhardt Jr., nor does it appear that he has a broadcasting gig within the sport lined up. While a notable driver, he's not the superstar Earnhardt Jr. was or still is today. 

But like his predecessor at Hendrick Motorsports, he's choosing to cut his career short, and while he's technically doing so on his own terms, it's always unfortunate to see an athlete who is forced to retire before their time.