Alex Bowman 2019 season in review

26-year-old Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, had a career year in 2019. Scroll through the gallery to relive a few key events from Bowman’s fifth season in NASCAR’s premier series, where he finished 12th in the final standings.

Entering 2019 with only three top-five finishes in the Cup Series, Bowman put together the best numbers of his career. He raced his way to seven top fives, 12 top 10s and an average finish of 14.36 -- personal records in each category. His 200 laps led during the season also tied his career-high set in 2016.

Searching for his first career win in the series, the No. 88 team reached its stride in the middle of the spring. Bowman and crew put together four consecutive races inside the top 10, including runner-up finishes in three straight at Talladega, Dover and Kansas.

Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives secured the pairing’s first trip to Victory Lane a month later at Chicagoland. Bowman coincidentally led 88 laps and held off Kyle Larson in a back-and-forth battle in the closing laps en route to his first career Cup Series win.

The win locked Bowman and the No. 88 team into the NASCAR Playoffs for the second consecutive year.

A sixth-place finish at the playoff opener in Las Vegas and a runner-up finish at the Charlotte Roval helped Bowman advance to the Round of 12 for the first time in his career.

Despite a wreck at Talladega that severely hurt Bowman’s chances at title contention, he wheeled his way to a pair of top fives at Dover and Texas and a ninth place finish at Homestead to round out his best statistical season at NASCAR’s top level.