When Hendrick Motorsports’ X account was making routine tweets on Thursday, no one expected it to drop the bomb on Alex Bowman’s retirement suddenly.

The team announced that the 2027 season will be Bowman’s last in HMS as well as in the Cup Series. This was followed by an exclusive concurrent feature report by Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, who got to interview Bowman about the same.

While many fans guess the reason to be the injury-prone run he’s had, there is actually another major reason why Bowman wants to park his 48 car for good.

When he was signed by Hendrick in 2017, “The first thing I said was ‘I’m not doing this past 35,'” Bowman told Jeff Gluck. “I have a lot of things I want to do in my life that I can’t do while I’m driving.”

Bowman will live up to his promise, as he turns 34 next year in his final Cup season.

But the toll that the injuries have taken on his body remains the primary reason. In 2022, he missed five races due to a concussion, and then the next year, he broke his back in a sprint car crash. He still pays the price for it to date.

“My back hurts a lot; I’m in a lot of pain,” Bowman said. “I’m doing (physical therapy) every single day, just trying to get through the season.”

This year too, Bowman stepped out mid-race at COTA in March when he was taken to the infield care center and was later diagnosed with vertigo. He missed the next four races at Phoenix, Las Vegas, Darlington, and Martinsville.

"In March, that's what I was doing. I was pretty adamant that I wasn’t going to come back and that I was done. We had all those conversations," Bowman told Gluck.

While he made a good comeback in the next few races, the overall season still has been underwhelming. In 17 races, Bowman has three top-5s and sits in 29^th.

Nonetheless, the news from Hendrick Motorsports on their X account drew mixed reactions from the fans.

Fans are divided on Bowman’s decision

“Very smart decision, young man, you have a whole life. Congratulations on being a cup winner, a dream most of us only think about,” said a fan.

While Bowman’s retirement feels early, he isn’t leaving the sport empty-handed. In his 12 years of Cup racing, he’s garnered eight wins and 114 top-10s. Aside from that, he also holds the record for the most front row starts (six) and most consecutive front row starts (six) in the Daytona 500, from 2018 to 2023.

“Why is he retiring after next year he’s really young” wrote a fan, which summarized the sentiment of many.

““Retire”. Sure. We all know this was not his decision,” said another, which hinted at the long-time speculation going on over Bowman’s seat at HMS. Many media houses have reported Connor Zilisch to take his place eventually.

One fan tweeted, “You better give him the best car he's ever had for 2027. He deserves it after being the 4th car since 2022.”

HMS’ other three drivers, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and William Byron, have statistically enjoyed more wins and have been the bigger faces of the team.

Another had a wise, introspective comment, as they said, “Every driver wants to go out on their own terms, injuries are stacking up and soon the choice won’t be his. It’s better to retire from HMS rather than slowly dwindle away with s*** teams. I’m glad HMS gave him another year, this year isn’t the one to retire from.”

Last but not least, his longtime sponsor, Ally Racing, couldn’t help but chime in, saying, “Thankful for one more rally with our ally!”

What do you feel about Bowman’s retirement? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Suyashdeep Sason

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason