Alex Bowman likes the trophies, but he’s searching for consistency, too

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Despite career-best four victories and a trip to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Alex Bowman characterized his 2021 season as a mixed bag.

“Last year (2020), we ended the season really consistent, finished sixth in points, had a really great playoff run, and nobody really cared,” Bowman said last week during an availability before the NASCAR Awards. “It was cool to finish sixth in points, but we only won one race.

“This year, we won four races, we won a race in the middle of the playoffs, but we finished bad in points – 14th – but we still won four races. So, looking back at it, I’d rather have the four trophies, but it would be nice to be able to figure out the consistency side of it.”

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That’s something Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives have struggled to accomplish.

“I think, as a team, Greg and myself and everybody on our team has been asking ourselves that for four years now,” said Bowman, who plans to follow teammate Kyle Larson’s lead and run approximately 30 sprint-car races in 2022. “We’ve got to figure it out, and we’ve got some work to do to make it happen. There’s a lot changing next year, and hopefully that benefits us.”

Speaking of the trophies, Bowman’s grandfather clock from Martinsville Speedway just arrived this week.

“I always thought the Dover trophy (Miles the Monster) was the coolest trophy,” Bowman said. “I think the Monster is pretty cool. It turns out the Monster can hold a bottle of Jameson the same way it can hold a die-cast car, so I think that’s pretty neat. So I think that’s a cool one.

“But the clock’s also real cool. I stuck it in my office, kind of in the corner. It’s neat to have. It’s a process to set it up. I didn’t expect that, but I got that done and it’s pretty cool.”