Bowman pilots Coast Guard boat in Mission 600
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. – It’s an ability he didn’t know he had and one he isn’t likely to need often, but NASCAR driver Alex Bowman has discovered he can pilot a fairly large boat.
Bowman and three members of his Hendrick Motorsports crew recently participated in an Atlantic Ocean rescue drill with guardsmen from the Wrightsville Beach Coast Guard Station. In stormy weather and amid 4-foot waves, Bowman piloted a 45-foot response boat, using a couple of joysticks, with the assistance of Coast Guard personnel.
Despite much banter about the possibility of seasickness — and Bowman’s claim that one of his crewmembers “broke” the boat — it all went swimmingly.
Bowman’s visit with Coast Guard personnel was part of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Mission 600, a promotional exercise and a salute to U.S. military personnel that included visits by other drivers with Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine units.
At Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, the track’s annual Memorial Day weekend salute to the armed forces will include more than 800 active military personnel.
Bowman will return to his normal (hopefully drier) driving position behind the wheel of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet in the 600 as one of the sport’s top Chevrolet teams continues to fight its way out of a season-long slump.
Bowman, 25, is in his first full season as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s replacement in the No. 88, one of the sport’s most iconic rides. Through 12 races, his work has produced one top-five finish (a fifth at Bristol Motor Speedway), but criticism of that record can be blunted by a look at the Hendrick team’s overall results.
Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott and William Byron
also are winless. Johnson is 12th in points, followed by Bowman at 14th, Elliott at 15th and Byron at 19th.
“We’re all about the same speed,” Bowman said. “There’s really nothing I can personally do at this point aside from continuing to work hard and get better. It’s definitely frustrating but still better than anywhere I’ve been.”
Chevrolet teams generally have struggled with the new Camaro model. Chevy has gone winless since Austin Dillon scored a last-lap victory in the season-opening Daytona 500.
Bowman said the solution isn’t simply to push the cars to go faster and run over the ragged edge.
“The tires fall off so hard,” he said. “You can make speed for a couple laps, but it just hurts you in the long run. I think everybody at the Cup level is capable of winning. It boils down to putting an entire race together and not making mistakes. There’s only so much you can do from the driver’s seat at times.”
The current target for Bowman — and everyone else in the sport — is Kevin Harvick, who is having a career season with five point-race victories and a win in last weekend’s All-Star Race. Harvick drives for the Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team.
“We’re a half-second (per lap) off the 4 car (Harvick) consistently, and that’s crazy,” Bowman said. “We’ve got to get going in the right direction. Our cars have gotten better every week, but so has the competition. We just need to get faster before they do.
“There are a lot of really smart people at Hendrick. Everybody’s working hard. Nobody is giving up. We’re making progress and getting better.”
Qualifying for Sunday’s 600, the longest race of the NASCAR season, is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET Thursday.