Alex Bowman cleared for Cup Series return at Bristol

Alex Bowman has been medically cleared to return to NASCAR Cup Series competition at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday morning. Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, missed the past four races with vertigo, stepping out of his car during the March 1 race at Circuit of The Americas when symptoms arose. MORE: Cup standings | Bristol schedule Sunday's Food City 500 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will mark Bowman's first race since symptoms began. "I'm grateful for the support I've had from Hendrick Motorsports, my sponsor Ally, our fans and the medical team throughout this process," Bowman said in a team release. "It's been tough being out of the car, but we all wanted to make sure I was 100% ready before returning. I feel really good, and I'm excited about being at the track with my team and getting back to racing." In a release, Hendrick Motorsports said Bowman turned laps Tuesday in a street car at the Ten Tenths Motor Club road course in Concord, North Carolina, then participated in a Wednesday pit practice in addition to simulator testing. Bowman then underwent a medical evaluation before being formally cleared for competition without restrictions. "We're proud of Alex and the way he's handled this situation," Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, said in a release. "He's put a lot of work into his recovery and followed the medical team's plan every step of the way. From the outset, our goal was to prioritize his health and have him return when he was fully recovered and medically cleared. We're looking forward to seeing Alex back in his race car this weekend." Myatt Snider stepped into the No. 48 Chevrolet to complete the race at COTA when Bowman exited the vehicle at Lap 71. Anthony Alfredo, a simulation driver for Hendrick Motorsports, drove the No. 48 car in Bowman's absence at Phoenix Raceway while Justin Allgaier, the 2024 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion, substituted at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Martinsville Speedway. Bowman, an eight-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, is in his ninth season with the Rick Hendrick-owned team. He returns to action sitting 36th in the Cup standings with a best finish of 23rd (EchoPark Speedway) in three starts this year.