Prior to Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman’s NASCAR return on Sunday at Bristol, HMS vice chairman Jeff Gordon weighed in on the situation.
Bowman was sidelined in the last four Cup Series races after being diagnosed with vertigo.
Symptoms began when the driver of the No. 48 made a premature exit at the Circuit of The Americas Cup race prior to the four-race absence.
In the leadup to Sunday’s Food City 500, HMS announced that the eight-time Cup Series race winner was making his way back to the driver’s seat.
Jeff Gordon on Bowman’s return: ‘Seems like a good decision’
After being presented with his own Bristol Motor Speedway sword, the four-time Cup Series champion took questions from the media on Sunday.
Originally, Bowman was expected to miss Bristol.
Turns out, the Arizona native made a speedier recovery than expected as he rolled off 27th on Sunday in Bristol, Tennessee.
Between hard work and cooperation with his doctors, Gordon believes Bowman’s return to NASCAR competition ended up being the right choice, based on how Saturday’s practice unfolded.
“So far, it seems like a good decision. It was really Alex’s choice. He worked hard, followed the doctor’s orders, and the treatments that they’re doing and analyzing and feeling how his body is doing. We got the call of, ‘Hey, I think I’m ready for Bristol,’” Gordon said.
Gordon went on to say there have been a number of “changes” to the No. 48 team this year.
Unfortunately, that team has been without their driver the last four races. Anthony Alfredo was Bowman’s fill-in driver at Phoenix, while Justin Allgaier took over the seat in the next three races.
Now, with Bowman back behind the wheel, Gordon said it has given the HMS team a spark.
“We made a lot of changes this year that he’s very involved in and had a lot of optimism for getting that team where they belong and where they need to be. … Getting [him] back is a big boost. The team’s excited and let’s see how it goes,” Gordon said.
Gordon said Bowman chose the harder path in NASCAR return
Bowman could have waited until next week’s Cup race at Kansas Speedway to make his return.
Gordon believed next week’s event at the 1.5-mile track would have been an easier transition back into the car, saying that it is less physically-demanding than the high banks of Bristol.
Yet, Bowman is a competitor at heart, and Gordon applauded his driver’s courage for getting back at it this weekend.
“He’s a competitor and he wanted to put himself out there this weekend and I think knowing it could be a really tough challenge,” Gordon said.
Bowman entered Sunday’s race last in the points standings among full-time Cup drivers.
With 20 races remaining until The Chase, Bowman will have to make up ground in a quick amount of time. He started the Food City 500 144 points below the cut line to make it into the 16-driver Chase.
The Food City 500 gets underway today (Sunday, April 12) at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
Jeff Gordon Comments on Alex Bowman’s NASCAR Return