By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor
Alex Bowman opened his first race season as the full-time driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) Chevrolet exactly where he wanted to be – leading the field to green from the pole.
But he wouldn’t stay there long.
Bowman pulled up to the high lane and waved the rest of the 19-car Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field by him on the opening lap of the 60-lap first Can-Am Duel, dropping to the back of the pack.
It was there that Bowman would stay, riding around behind the field en-route to a 14th-place finish.
A fun race? Perhaps not. But with his car – and therefore Daytona 500 pole – intact, the 24-year-old was left content with the result.
“We’re on the pole for the Daytona 500,” Bowman said afterward. “I don’t think there’s much regret there at all.”
The move was a risky one for Bowman. The Tucson, Arizona native is the only driver in the field that has yet to draft with the current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rules package – having failed to qualify for the Advance Auto Parts Clash or practice in the draft during any of the opening weekend’s sessions.
Given his lack of opportunities last season, Bowman hasn’t been in the draft in any regard for nearly a year.
“We haven’t drafted at all,” Bowman said. “I haven’t drafted really since the test here in April. It’ll be interesting, but our race car still drove okay so I’m pretty confident going into Sunday.”
Kevin Harvick criticized Bowman’s decision after finishing second in Duel 2, saying “Alex Bowman didn’t learn anything today, in my opinion. They’ll go out and practice. Riding around starting on the pole is great, but no knowing what your car is going to do is a complete waste of time, in my opinion.”
But while he’s yet to see the draft, Bowman’s conservative effort did prove better than the nights of his two HMS’ teammates.
Jimmie Johnson was forced to a backup car after an apparent soft tire sent him careening into Aric Almirola. Later in the race team newcomer William Byron was sent around after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got close to his left-rear quarter panel, shifting the way the air buffeted around his No. 24 Chevrolet.
Also lost to the surprising level of attrition were Almirola, Brad Keselowski and David Gilliland, meaning a full quarter of the 20-car field left the evening in need of either extensive repairs or a backup car.
Given the amount of wrecks he had to dodge, Bowman felt confident in his team’s decision to lay back.
“I’m glad we don’t have a torn up race car,” Bowman said. “Obviously we have a really, really fast Nationwide Chevy. We didn’t want to tear it up, take any unnecessary risks. We’re on the pole for the Daytona 500.”
His Duel survived, Bowman can place his focus on Sunday’s 500-mile crown jewel. Despite his lack of experience or run time with the new car, the fourth-year Cup Series driver is confident in his team’s ability to contend in ‘The Great American Race.’
“We have an entire different setup that can make it drive better for the 500,” Bowman said. “We’ll see what final practice is and how it goes. I think we can draft a little bit there. But I think we’ll be fine.
“We were in (qualifying) trim still, but the race car really didn’t drive that bad,” he later continued. “I thought it was going to drive a lot worse after we got some laps on tires.
“Proud of all my guys. We made some extra pit stops to run through pit stops and get them some reps. I think we’ll be really good on Sunday.”