Getty Alex Bowman waves to fans at Richmond Raceway.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman is in the midst of a career year, locking up three wins and a two-year contract extension. He has also spent a considerable amount of time providing crucial financial support to animal shelters around the country.
Ally Financial, Bowman’s primary sponsor in the NASCAR Cup Series, has pledged to donate $1,000 to Best Friends Animal Society-affiliated shelters in race markets during the 2021 season. Bowman matches the donations to increase the amount of money helping out the animals. Additionally, the sponsor donates $10,000 to a local shelter every time that Bowman reaches Victory Lane in the No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
Bowman has won three races during the 2021 season. He first reached Victory Lane at Richmond Raceway on April 18 before adding wins at Dover International Speedway (May 16) and Pocono Raceway (June 26). These results provided another $30,000 to animal shelters.
“It’s been awesome,” Bowman told Heavy during an interview on Tuesday, Sept. 14. “Working with Ally has been so much fun. Obviously, partnering with Best Friends and donating to a shelter at every race track that we go to is cool. It’s just neat to have a partner like Ally that’s passionate about similar things to what I’m passionate about.”
Bowman Hasn’t Simply Handed Out Checks to Shelters
The driver of the No. 48 has been more “hands-on” with his approach to supporting shelters around the country. Along with helping Ally provide crucial funds, he has also headed to a wide variety of shelters to spend time with the animals and highlight those in need of adoption.
“I’ve gotten to go to some shelters and hang out with some animals, which has been really cool,” Bowman continued. “I’ve met a lot of really cool people through that. It’s just really cool to be a part of that. There’s a lot of pets that need homes, and I feel like obviously, we’re kind of scratching the surface and making a small difference. But any difference is better than none.”
As Bowman explained during the interview, his passion for animals stems from a major decision he made earlier in his life. He adopted a dog named Roscoe, who is “grumpy and old,” at the age of 19 and immediately dove head-on into the world of raising a rescue animal. Nearly a decade later, Roscoe is a key figure in Bowman’s life and the inspiration for these fundraising efforts.
Bowman Has the Goal of Adding Even More Donations
The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet has already helped deliver three separate $10,000 checks to shelters in NASCAR markets, but he is nowhere near finished. Bowman has the goal of winning again before the end of the 2021 season and increasing his donations.
The first race on the schedule takes place at Bristol Motor Speedway, a track where he hasn’t previously won. Bowman has two top-10s and a fifth-place finish in 2018, but he will fight for his career-first win at the short track on Saturday, Sept. 18 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network).
The remaining races on the schedule take place at tracks where Bowman has performed well. He has two top-five finishes at the Charlotte Roval, one at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, two at Kansas Speedway, and one at Talladega Superspeedway. He also has four combined top-10 finishes at the final two tracks on the schedule — Martinsville and Phoenix.
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