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Alex Bowman clinches Cup Series playoff berth with Chicago win

AP photo by Erin Hooley / Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman is sprayed by members of the No. 48 Chevrolet crew as they celebrate winning Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race on the streets of downtown Chicago.
AP photo by Erin Hooley / Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman is sprayed by members of the No. 48 Chevrolet crew as they celebrate winning Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race on the streets of downtown Chicago.

By JAY COHEN / The Associated Press 6 min read

CHICAGO — At long last, Alex Bowman got another win, and with it, a spot in this year’s NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

So, yeah, he was ready to party.

“We’re going to drink so much damn bourbon tonight, it’s going to be a bad deal,” a jubilant Bowman said. “I’m probably going to wake up naked on the bathroom floor again. That’s just part of this deal sometimes.”

Bowman ended his 80-race winless skid when he held on for a victory Sunday evening in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 28 Chevrolet on the rain-soaked streets of downtown Chicago.

It was Bowman’s first victory since a March 2022 triumph at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and No. 8 for the 31-year-old Arizona native’s Cup Series career. He is the 12th driver to win a Cup Series points race this year, leaving just four spots in the 16-driver field for the playoffs with six races left in the regular season.