CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Alex Bowman has heard the rumors about Hendrick Motorsports possibly replacing him after the 2024 season. He has responded bluntly and let it be known that he plans on being back in the No. 48 Chevrolet.
"That rumor has certainly been annoying," Bowman said during Playoff Media Day. "Obviously, my contract is through the end of 2026. All I can tell you is what my bosses have told me, and that is that there are no plans to change anything.
"Yeah, rumors are just rumors. Hopefully, they'll get their announcements done so my rumors stop, obviously. Yeah, as far as I know, I'm driving the No. 48 next year."
The rumor gained traction leading up to the playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway. One host of the "Door, Bumper, Clear" podcast indicated that Bowman could lose his seat at Hendrick if he were to be eliminated in the Round of 16.
Of course, this rumor has circulated for longer than just this week. Bowman has been aware of it for some time, which sent him searching for answers.
"It got to the point where I picked up the phone and called everybody, and everybody said, 'absolutely not,'" Bowman said. "So, that's really all I have to go on and I don't have a reason to believe anything other than that.
"There's no, 'Oh, you need to do this to keep your job.' Like it's absolutely not... Everything's fine."
Bowman, now in his seventh full-time season with Hendrick Motorsports, has delivered six playoff appearances and multiple wins since replacing a retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr.
He won his first career race in 2019 and then he won another in 2020. Bowman captured four wins in 2021, one in 2022, and one this season. The lone season when he did not make the playoffs was 2023 as he missed three races with a fractured back.
The Arizona native returned to victory lane this season on the streets of Chicago. He used tire strategy to gain track position and then he outlasted a hard-charging Tyler Reddick. He followed up the win with a third-place finish at Pocono Raceway.
In the five races since Pocono, however, Bowman and the No. 48 team have struggled to contend. They have two top-20 finishes and three finishes of 27th or worse. This stretch dropped Bowman out of the top 10 in points and took away some bonus playoff points.
The veteran is now the 12th seed entering the Round of 16. He is on the cutline with five playoff points, putting him in a tie with Chase Briscoe and Harrison Burton. Bowman has no room for error entering Atlanta. something of which he is acutely aware.
"It's been a miserable month," he said. "We haven't executed on a high level at all, so we need to go run better the next 10 weeks. But we need to do that for us and our playoff run."