Emotional Alex Bowman 'just ready to go home' after Gateway runner-up

Alex Bowman put together arguably his best race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season Sunday at Gateway. 

Bowman finished runner-up to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate in Kyle Larson, holding off Joey Logano for second and coming close to winning for the first time since Chicago in 2026. 

But as Larson noted in his post-race interview, Bowman's dog, Finn, died earlier in the week. 

What great Gateway run meant for Alex Bowman

"Super happy for Kyle," an emotional Bowman told USA Network, his voice quavering. "Just a really hard weekend just to get on the plane and be here. Ready to go home. Proud of everybody on this Ally 48 team for helping me through the weekend. Life is hard sometimes. I lost my best friend. So, ready to go home."

Bowman added that he felt that Finn provided him some help during Sunday's race. 

"I suck here, so clearly I had some help," Bowman said. "You just never want to see your best friend suffer. Unfortunately, the end was pretty bad. That was really difficult. Really proud of Kyle for winning; I know it's been a while for him. It was a good day for us."

Bowman, who is retiring from full-time Cup racing at the end of 2027, is 26th in the series standings through 28 races this year.