Alex Bowman was sidelined from Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix due to vertigo. After prematurely exiting the Cup race at COTA the week prior, the driver of the No. 48 was diagnosed with the illness.
During Sunday’s FOX broadcast of the Cup Series race, longtime announcer Mike Joy said Bowman’s diagnosis wasn’t related to the driver missing the Phoenix event.
On Tuesday, Joy issued an apology to the Hendrick Motorsports driver as he said he misspoke about his condition. Joy followed up by sending Bowman well wishes and explained how he got the information wrong.
Mike Joy on Alex Bowman mishap: ‘Apologies to Alex’
It was brought to Joy’s attention that he misspoke about what led to Bowman being sidelined for last Sunday’s race at Phoenix.
Joy claimed on the broadcast that the driver’s vertigo diagnosis wasn’t related to why he exited the race at COTA. In an X post on Tuesday, the play-by-play announcer apologized to Bowman and said he would clarify his statements on the next broadcast.
“I misspoke Sunday about [Alex Bowman’s] vertigo, which he experienced during the COTA race. Apologies to Alex; I’ll correct and update on Sunday’s telecast. Hope he’s recovered and back on track soon,” Joy wrote.
Joy followed up with another X post explaining how he got the information wrong.
The 76-year-old said he meant to say Bowman’s Phoenix absence had nothing to do with any prior concussions, rather than saying it wasn’t due to his vertigo diagnosis.
“For some who asked for details.. I mistakenly said Alex Bowman’s vertigo that sidelined him for PHX wasn’t related to the COTA situation. It was a continuation of that. I intended to say it wasn’t related to a prior concussion (per HMS’ Jeff Andrews), and that got crossed up,” Joy wrote.
Bowman retired from last week’s Cup race at COTA with just over 20 laps to go. Myatt Snider filled in for the eight-time Cup Series winner the remainder of the race, posting a 36th-place finish in the end.
Anthony Alfredo was the fill-in driver for Bowman this past Sunday at Phoenix. The 26-year-old started the race 31st and wound up posting a DNF after getting caught up in a crash with Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric.
Alex Bowman not listed for Las Vegas Cup race yet
As of Tuesday afternoon (March 10), Alex Bowman’s status for the upcoming Cup Series race at Las Vegas remains unclear.
Jeff Andrews, President and General Manager of Hendrick Motorsports, made it clear that the organization supports Bowman in his road to recovery.
In an interview with SiriusXM Radio last week, Andrews said the organization anticipates Bowman’s return to the seat of the No. 48 car.
“We’ll support him however long this takes and that seat will be ready for him when he gets ready to get back in that car,” Andrews said.
After four races, Bowman is currently 36th in the Cup points standings, which is last among full-time drivers. The Arizona native failed to finish top 20 in a Cup race this season.