Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports Jeff Gordon has revealed the disappointment and embarrassment regarding Alex Bowman’s disqualification from the Charlotte ROVAL race from within the team.
The disqualification came shortly after Bowman, driving the No. 48 car, achieved what initially appeared to be a triumphant day at the Bank of America ROVAL 400, part of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The race initially saw Bowman claim a top 20 finish and victory in the second stage. However, post-race inspections by NASCAR revealed that Bowman’s car was too light, resulting in his disqualification and demotion to 38th place. This unexpected outcome removed him from the semi-final playoff round, allowing Joey Logano to secure the final spot instead.
The day, which had seen notable success with Kyle Larson’s win for the team, quickly soured amid the news of the disqualification. Hendrick Motorsports confirmed on Monday that they would not be appealing the disqualification.
Gordon has since commented on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, as quoted by Sports Illustrated:
Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, greets fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 21, 2024 in Bristol, Tennessee. Jeff Gordon opens up on Alex Bowman’s Charlotte Roval disqualification.
James Gilbert/Getty Images
“When we looked at all the factors, and you saw early on in the race the No. 48 launched up into the air and got into the wall.
“You just look at this race in general and the amount of contact – we wanted to really inspect the car wholly, to see if there was damage or was there something that got dislodged from the car.
“NASCAR was great throughout the whole process, you can’t really inspect much of it at the racetrack, so we weren’t really sure, but they took it to the [NASCAR R&D] Center [on Monday] and looked at it thoroughly and examined it and didn’t find anything.”
He added:
“It’s just one of those things where NASCAR has minimum pre-race and post-race weights and our teams, in order to make the best-performing racecars every weekend for our drivers, we know that we’ve got to stay as close to those minimums as possible, and in this case, the No. 48 car, they just cut it too close and missed it, so that’s on us.
“Pretty embarrassed by it, and pretty disappointing after what was looking like a historic day, and one of the most exciting days we’ve had.”
Finally, Gordon concluded:
“There’s a multitude of factors that make it tough to swallow, but one of the keys is the performance of the No. 48 team, what Alex [Bowman] has done, the team has had a lot of pressure on them, they’ve been building that team up, building more depth, getting comfortable with one another, Alex being healthy this year.
“They go win at Chicago and get themselves in the Playoffs and performed at a high level throughout the playoffs. So you hate to take the momentum and opportunity away. I know they’re disappointed as well.”
“You can go gain a lot of points and get high up, and keep the momentum going and win races, and takethat into next season, and hopefully get next year started right.”
