Hendrick Motorsports driver expected to miss significant time following incident in Iowa on Tuesday.
Jared C. TiltonGetty ImagesFor the second time this season, Hendrick Motorsports has a driver on the injured list due to an injury sustained away from the NASCAR Cup Series.
This time, it’s Alex Bowman.
According to the team, Bowman suffered a fractured vertebra in a Sprint Car race at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, on Tuesday night. He suffered what is being described as a compression fracture and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.
Bowman, 30, will be the second Hendrick driver to spend significant time away from Cup Series this season. Earlier, Chase Elliott missed six races after breaking a leg in a snowboarding accident.
Neither Bowman nor Elliott have won a Cup race this season and therefore have not yet qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Xfinity Series regular Josh Berry, 32, will fill in during Bowman’s recovery. Earlier this season, Berry drove for Elliott in five Cup events with a best finish of second on April 2 at Richmond Raceway. The Hendersonville, Tennessee, native competes full-time for Hendrick Motorsports affiliate JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he has five career wins.
Jordan Taylor raced in Elliott’s place at Circuit of the Americas on March 26.
Bowman, who began his Cup Series career in 2014, has seven career victories. He’s currently ninth in the Cup Series points standings.
“We’re relieved Alex is home, in good spirits and getting world-class treatment,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “Giving him ample time and the foremost resources to heal is our top priority. He’s having a tremendous season, and the No. 48 is at the top of its game. We know what Josh is capable of in the race car and that Blake (Harris, crew chief) and the team will continue operating at a high level until Alex is ready to return. He has our full, unequivocal support.”
Hendrick Motorsports will need a medical waiver for Bowman to remain eligible for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Mike Pryson Mike Pryson covered auto racing for the Jackson (Mich.) Citizen Patriot and MLive Media Group from 1991 until joining Autoweek in 2011.
Keyword: NASCAR Cup Driver Alex Bowman Breaks Vertebra in Sprint Car Race