FONTANA, Calif. – Before Alex Bowman started looking for tattoo shops somewhere between Los Angeles and Phoenix, he celebrated a win that suggested even more permanent success ahead for the hard-working NASCAR driver and his resurgent team.
Bowman raced to the second win of his Cup Series career Sunday, holding off Kyle and Kurt Busch at Auto Club Speedway.
The victory was the culmination of a tremendously encouraging weekend for Bowman, who has run 156 races on the top-tier circuit without extraordinary success and is in the final year of his contract with Hendrick Motorsports.
His No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro felt like the fastest car on this weathered, wide asphalt from the moment they unloaded it last week, though, and Bowman decisively proved he knew what to do with it.
“We’ve been so good to start this season,” the 26-year-old Arizona native said. “We’ve got to go win a bunch more, but man, it feels good to have one this early.”