CONCORD, N.C. (WBTV) – A star NASCAR driver will miss at least three more races as he continues to battle a health condition.
Alex Bowman — driver of the No. 48 car — has continued to deal with vertigo, Hendrick Motorsports said.
Bowman ran all of the Daytona and Atlanta races to start the 2026 Cup Series season, then started the third race at Circuit of the Americas on March 1, but was unable to finish after he began feeling unwell.
He was diagnosed with vertigo in the days after that March 1 race, and subsequently missed the past two races at Phoenix and Las Vegas. Now, Hendrick Motorsports said he will miss the next three events as well, at Darlington, Martinsville and Bristol.
Anthony Alfredo filled in for Bowman at Phoenix before Justin Allgaier took over at Las Vegas. Allgaier will remain in the No. 48 car for the next three races.
“Alex continues to experience symptoms, so we are following the guidance of the medical team and giving him the time he needs to recover,” Hendrick Motorsports executive Jeff Andrews said in a news release.
“We see how hard he’s working to get back behind the wheel, and we’re looking forward to his return when he’s medically cleared,” the statement went on. “Everyone at Hendrick Motorsports is 100% behind Alex.”
The 32-year-old driver is in his ninth full-time season with Hendrick, and has won eight Cup races during that time.
Bowman previously missed races in 2022 and 2023 due to a concussion and a back injury.
Hendrick Motorsports previously said it would seek a medical waiver for Bowman to maintain championship eligibility, although it would be mathematically difficult for him to qualify for NASCAR’s postseason due to the sport’s return to the “Chase” format.
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