Alex Bowman 2025 season in review

Editor's note: This is the 18th in a series in which we review the top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in reverse order of the 2025 final standings. Driver: Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Crew chief: Blake Harris Final 2025 ranking: 13th Key stats: 0 wins, 6 top fives, 16 top 10s, 165 laps led How 2025 ended: Bowman made the Cup Series Playoffs for the second year in a row, earning the final spot available on points. He crashed in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, but a repeat winner in Ryan Blaney helped solidify his postseason spot over Chris Buescher. However, a pair of finishes outside the top 25 in the first two Round of 16 events put him behind the 8-ball, falling to elimination after the Bristol Night Race. He earned just one top 10 in the final seven races of the campaign. Best race: Suffering a major crash in the previous race at Michigan International Speedway, Bowman participated in the inaugural Cup Series event in Mexico City in obvious pain. Not feeling 100%, Bowman overcame a 29th-place starting position to finish fourth at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, earning what was his third top five of the season. It broke a stretch of three consecutive finishes of 29th or worse, also beginning a streak of seven top-11 results over the next eight races. Odd timing for sure, but Mexico City paved the way toward his 2025 playoff spot. RELATED: 2026 Cup Series schedule | Alex Bowman driver page Other season highlights: Bowman's stellar summer certainly stood out, but his superb start to the season was equally impressive. The Tucson, Arizona, native earned top 10s in five of the first six races, including a runner-up at Homestead-Miami Speedway after earning the pole. During the summer months, he finished third twice and added a second-place at Richmond Raceway, nearly besting Austin Dillon for the win. Down the stretch, he finished seventh at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, adding another plus result to what's historically been one of his best tracks. Stat to know: Bowman's average finish in 2025 was 17.4, almost three spots worse than 2024 and the lowest mark of his Hendrick tenure. Additionally, his average starting position was nearly two spots worse than in 2024, dropping from 13.9 to 15.8. Quotable: "The biggest strength is the momentum that we have behind us … the year that we've been able to put together, the speed that we've had at some race tracks that I've been pretty bad at before. At Homestead, we've never been good and we almost won. Richmond, we've been pretty bad with the Next Gen car and we were strong there. So I think that shows me that we can go to places that we haven't been good at before and be really strong." -- Bowman said during playoff media day in August. Looking ahead: Bowman will return to Hendrick Motorsports in 2026 for his ninth full-time campaign with the organization. He needs a strong season to solidify his future with the No. 48 team, earning just two victories since his breakout 2021 campaign. The 32-year-old has proven his ceiling is high, but has not consistently contended as of late.