MEXICO CITY — Anthony Alfredo will be on standby this weekend for Alex Bowman after Bowman’s head-on crash last weekend at Michigan, Hendrick Motorsports stated Thursday.
Hendrick Motorsports stated that Bowman is set to compete in Sunday’s Cup race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The team stated that Bowman was evaluated this week for back pain following the Michigan crash.
In 2023, Bowman missed four total Cup races after he suffered fracture vertebra in a sprint car crash.
Alfredo is the primary simulator driver for Hendrick Motorsports and also is entered in Saturday’s Xfinity race here.
At Michigan last weekend, Austin Cindric made contact with Cole Custer and Custer’s car hit Bowman’s. That sent Bowman’s car into the wall head-on.
“That hurt a lot,” Bowman told Prime’s Kim Coon after exiting the infield care center at Michigan. “That was probably top of the board on hits I’ve taken, and unfortunately I’ve had a lot of hits. So I hate that for the 48 team. Couldn’t really do anything except think about ‘Oh (expletive) this is about to hurt really bad.’ Hate that. Hate that for our team.”
Bowman finished last in the 36-car field last weekend. Michigan marked the seventh time in the last nine races that Bowman has finished 27th or worse. He has dropped from third to 13th in the standings in that time.
Bowman has five top-10 finishes in his last nine road course starts. He won the Chicago Street Race last July for his most recent Cup victory.
“I’m really looking forward to racing in Mexico this weekend,” Bowman said in a statement from Hendrick Motorsports. “It’s always special to bring our sport to new places and feel the excitement from fans who don’t always get to see us race in person.
“Our No. 48 Ally Chevy team has had speed, but we haven’t had the results to show for it lately. We’re ready to turn our luck around and put together a strong race from start to finish.”
