NASCAR Cup Series teams have completed 18 races, and three Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won their way into the playoffs. This leaves Alex Bowman as the lone member of the team seeking a win, but Hall of Famer Chad Knaus has little doubt that the No. 48 team will check off this goal.
"They're close," Knaus said about the No. 48 team during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "Again, the result is not always indicative of the performance, but man if you watch that 48 car, they do some pretty amazing things.
"They don't always qualify as good as what they want, but shoot, I think back to Kansas. I think he qualified like 28th, and the first caution was at Lap 8, and he had passed up to eighth. And it was like, 'Holy smokes!'"
Bowman's season has featured stretches of consistency disrupted by unexpected issues. He nearly won at Homestead-Miami Speedway but finished second in what was his fifth top-10 finish in the first six races. He has scored 99 stage points, only 10 fewer than teammate Chase Elliott, who has finished top-20 in every race this season.
Where these two teams differ is that some poor finishes have dropped the No. 48 team down by the playoff cutline. This includes an engine failure at Bristol Motor Speedway and a violent crash at Michigan International Speedway that injured Bowman's back.
"That team really has great speed, Blake (Harris, crew chief) and Alex are gelling very well," Knaus continued. "Obviously, Alex had a pretty big hit at Michigan and then that slowed him down a little bit going into Mexico, but he ran up front (and) was in position to win the race even though he was sore."
If Bowman and the No. 48 team can continue stacking points and showing speed, they will have an opportunity to potentially lock into the playoffs without a win. However, Knaus sees multiple opportunities ahead for Bowman to score his ninth career Cup Series win.
Chicago immediately jumps out considering that the Arizona native won last season's street race, but Knaus also pointed to select other tracks remaining in the regular season.
This list includes Sonoma Raceway, where Bowman has an average finish of 13.0 in six starts for Hendrick Motorsports. The crew chief-turned-VP of competition also highlighted Dover Motor Speedway, a track where Bowman has six top-five finishes, five top-fives, and a win in the last seven races.
"Going back to Chicago is pretty special," Bowman said this week. "That win last year was huge for me and this 48 team. It was one of those races where everything came together at the right time.
"The street course is such a unique challenge, and the atmosphere is unlike anything else we see all year. I'm excited to get back there, defend that win, and hopefully keep building momentum for the playoff push."