All signs points to Alex Bowman competing in Sunday's Cup Series race at at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez after being medically cleared. However, Hendrick Motorsports will have a backup driver on standby for the race weekend.
According to a pre-race advance, the Arizona native underwent evaluation this week for back pain after a head-first crash into the outside SAFER barrier at Michigan International Speedway. This incident on Lap 67 immediately brought out the red flag and prompted Bowman to say "That was probably top of the board on hits I've taken, and unfortunately, I've taken a lot of hits."
The red flag is out at @MISpeedway after this incident involving multiple cars.@Alex_Bowman exited the No. 48 under his own power. pic.twitter.com/hP4HV8rbKN
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 8, 2025
While Bowman was medically cleared to compete in Sunday's Cup Series race, Hendrick Motorsports will take precautions. The team will have Anthony Alfredo on hand as a standby driver if the need arises.
Hendrick Motorsports noted that Alfredo does the team's simulator work. He has spent extensive time preparing for the upcoming road course weekend in Mexico City.
According to the NASCAR podcast "Hauler Talk," the Gen 7 car performed as it should have in the severe crash. NASCAR Manager of Racing Communications Mike Forde said during this week's episode that Matt Harper, senior director of safety systems, and official David Green checked out the car at the track. They "felt pretty good" about how the car reacted in the crash.
Monday, Harper and Dr. John Patalak went to Hendrick Motorsports for an in-depth examination of the No. 48 Chevrolet. Forde said that once again, everything checked out.
Forde added that while NASCAR will not divulge the number of Gs experienced by Bowman in the crash, the incident was similar to Connor Zilisch going head-on into the inside SAFER barrier at Talladega Superspeedway.
This hit knocked Zilisch out of the No. 88 Xfinity Series entry for Texas Motor Speedway. Although this was more of a precautionary measure as the second-tier series had an off-week after Texas.
Bowman has dealt with multiple injuries during the Gen 7 era. He missed five races in 2022 due to a concussion sustained in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway. Bowman then missed four more races -- three points-paying and an All-Star Race -- in 2023 due to a compression fracture sustained in a sprint car crash.