NASCAR drivers have numerous ways to decompress during the grind of the Cup Series season. Some head to the closest golf course. Others compete in iRacing.
Seven-time Cup Series winner Alex Bowman heads to his race shop and spends time wrenching on his impressive collection of vehicles.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver competes full-time in the Cup Series, but he also runs ABR, Inc., which fields Sprint Cars and works on a mixture of street and drift cars. Bowman has used the race vehicles to compete on dirt around the country, but he has also spent considerable time working on them and fostering a love of mechanics that began during his childhood.
“I guess [love of mechanic work] probably started with spending time at my dad’s shop. But him and I are total opposites,” Bowman told Heavy in a recent interview.
“I can’t leave anything alone, and he wants everything how it was. He doesn’t want to mess with anything. If he buys a cool car, he’s never gonna drive it. He’s just gonna park it in his garage and look at it. I will put miles on everything and change everything. And I have to tinker with everything.”
“So I think a lot of it came from really being forced to work on and maintain my own race cars from a really young age. My dad was always really busy, and I would come home from school, do homework and then spend the complete rest of the day in the garage getting race cars ready for the weekend.
“Obviously, I don’t get to do that anymore on the Cup side of things. I don’t get to work on anything. If I did, stuff would fall off all the time. So I feel like I still have that want to work on things, and it’s really how ABR got started with the Sprint Car, Midget, and all the street car projects. I’m constantly tinkering on something if I’m bored.”
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Growing up working on race cars was a process, and Bowman made his fair share of mistakes while teaching himself. So far, he has avoided serious issues on the mechanical side.
The fabrication side has been the most difficult as Bowman has tried to prep cars for the Chili Bowl Nationals and other prestigious events. He learned that he doesn’t quite have the patience required for the fabrication work, so he has found others that can help with this important task.
Bowman Owns a Wide Variety of Vehicles
I love wagons, so I was delighted to learn during a discussion for an upcoming article that @Alex_Bowman has multiple. He also had a shoutout for @RutledgeWood‘s CTS-V.
(I should move my questions notebook to a different spot so I don’t look shifty.)
#NASCAR
The Sprint Cars are only part of Bowman’s collection, which also includes:
- Two Chevrolet Corvettes — one for drifting and a street car with 1,200 horsepower
- A 1966 Chevrolet C10 with an LS7 motor swap
- A Porsche GT3
- A 1991 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser
- A Mercedes-Benz E63 wagon
There is something for everyone and many are at different points of the build process. The Custom Cruiser is the newest addition after Bowman purchased it in early 2022, and the crew is still turning it into an overpowered beast.
These cars are a major change from what Bowman drove to North Carolina at the start of his NASCAR career. He previously had a Chevrolet Cobalt as his daily driver — a reliable car overall — but he has reached a point where he can enjoy an eclectic mix of high-powered vehicles that fit his personal tastes.
Does Bowman have a favorite car in his collection?
Not exactly. Each one can fill a certain role.
The truck, which he worked on with a builder in Texas, is great for burnouts on the way to the shop or the grocery store, as well as relaxed off-day cruises. It’s different than the Porsche, the E63 wagon, or any of his other vehicles.
“I feel like that really depends on your point of view,” Bowman told Heavy. “I mean, I think a lot of people think my truck is the coolest thing I have, which is the thing that I have had the least to do with building. My Corvette is a really cool car, and it is the fastest thing that I’ve ever sat in. Like, it’s crazy, but that’s a really good one. My drift car is really cool.
“I think everything that I have is cool. In a way, I think there’s a car for every day. So I drive a lot of different stuff and rotate through things pretty quickly. But I definitely think everything I have serves a purpose.”
Bowman Has a Love for 1 Part of the Building Process
GettyAlex Bowman loves to put together his Chili Bowl cars.
As someone that has spent hundreds of hours working in the shop, Bowman has figured out his favorite and least favorite parts of the process. Wiring is a fitting example.
Bowman has spent time recently trying to finish the wiring on his drift car. The amount of work and knowledge required can be a little overwhelming, and there is so much going on, that he just doesn’t find enjoyment in this part of working on cars.
On the flip side, Bowman’s favorite part takes place as the Cup Series drivers prepare for the offseason. He and ABR begin working on the vehicles that they will take to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the annual Chili Bowl Nationals. This indoor event is “the Super Bowl of Midget Racing,” and the biggest names across motorsports show up to compete.
“My favorite thing to do really, every year — pretty much every year — we start from scratch and build new cars for the Chili Bowl,” Bowman said. “Like, the final assembly on those cars is my favorite.
“Whenever things bend together and everything’s fit and you’ve kind of pulled everything back apart and powder-coated everything and got everything anodized and made everything nice — that final assembly and that thrash for two-and-a-half weeks before you go to Tulsa — that’s always my favorite.”
Bowman and ABR will soon turn their attention to the Chili Bowl cars. For now, he will continue to focus on stacking points before the Cup Series playoffs begin on September 4. He will also do what he truly loves — work on his cars while constant companions Finn and Roscoe sit nearby.
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Alex Bowman’s Impressive Car Collection Is Growing — And So Is He